Here are the headlines for Wednesday, December 22 as Mark Drakeford announces new coronavirus restrictions for Wales as Omicron continues to spread.
Plans for more rules to come into force after Christmas will be announced at 12:15pm today. Members of the Senedd have been recalled from their Christmas break to debate the new Covid restrictions being introduced on December 27.
In England, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced yesterday that Self-isolation would be cut from 10 days to seven with negative test to 'minimise disruption' caused by the new variant.
Read more: The big questions over Wales' strategy to tackle Omicron
People will now be able to end quarantine after seven days instead of 10 by providing negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven.
He said the change was based on the latest guidance from health experts. The new guidance can be used by people who are isolating after testing positive for Covid, regardless of their vaccination status.
People should not end their isolation early if they are still experiencing symptoms, officials said. And people ending isolation on day seven are strongly advised to limit contact with vulnerable people, not visit crowded or poorly ventilated spaces, and work from home.
Speaking to BBC News, the Health Secretary described the decision as a "sensible way forward".
He told the broadcaster: "We want to reduce the disruption to people's everyday lives caused by the pandemic. So today we will be cutting the self-isolation period from 10 days to 7 days for those people that take a lateral flow test on day six and day seven and the result of both those tests are negative.
"This decision has been informed by the advice from our clinicians at the UK Health Security Agency who have looked at this very carefully and they are very comfortable that the protection that is provided by making this change ... is very similar to 10 days of isolation without tests."
Mr Javid continued: "Of course, anyone who leaves after day seven under this new procedure, they should continue to remain cautious but we are also very clear that the best way to protect ourselves, our loved ones, our community, is to make sure you get boosted if you are eligible.
"I think this is a very sensible, balanced and proportionate take. Of course this new variant is spreading very rapidly, it is disrupting many people's lives. It is great that when people do get infected that they are properly isolating, I think that clearly helps prevent infection.
"But it is important also to look at how we can have policies that can help to minimise that and this step, again informed by our clinicians, is a very sensible way forward."
From today, those who receive negative lateral flow results on day six and day seven of their self-isolation period, and are vaccinated, will no longer have to self-isolate for the full 10 days. The rule change may help thousands of people see their families in time for Christmas.
The change comes amid a spike in cases caused by the new Covid variant, which has created staff shortages for businesses, health services and rail services.
Another 90,629 new Covid cases were reported across the UK on Tuesday. In Wales, 2,375 new cases were reported on Tuesday and six more people had died. A further 204 cases of the Omicron variant had also been located, taking the total to 640.
Mark Drakeford to announce new coronavirus restrictions for Wales
First Minister Mark Drakeford will hold a coronavirus briefing today to announce new regulations for Wales as Omicron continues to spread.
Plans for more rules to come into force after christmas will be announced at 12:15pm today.
Members of the Senedd have been recalled from their Christmas break to debate the new Covid restrictions being introduced on December 27.
Presiding Officer Elin Jones MS told Members of the Senedd they would meet to consider a "matter of urgent public importance".
It comes after Welsh Government cabinet ministers met yesterday discuss post-Christmas restrictions on hospitality. Mr Drakeford will update Wales on the outcome of that meeting through a press conference.
On Friday, it was confirmed that new restrictions would be brought in from Monday, December 27 in Wales. From then on nightclubs across the country will have to close, while extra safety measures will be put in place across other industries. A two-metre social distancing rule will be brought into effect in offices and one-way systems and physical barriers will come back into play. Crowds have also been banned from sports fixtures at all levels.
As of yet, there has been no definite decision on what, if any, restrictions will be imposed specifically on the hospitality industry, but First Minister Mark Drakeford has said that it was a possibility that a limit could be placed on the number of people who can meet, and that we could see a return to customers wearing masks inside pubs and restaurants.
Live updates on today's announcement can be found here.
Emergency train timetable to 'prepare for Omicron surge'
Transport for Wales (TfW) has announced an emergency rail timetable due to the spread of the Omicron variant.
The operator announced the move to prepare for an expected rise in staff shortages and to ensure it can continue to provide a service.
TfW and Network Rail have already seen a significant increase in staff absences since the beginning of December and this has started to impact rail services.
The new timetable comes into effect from Wednesday December 22.
The train operator said absences are expected to continue to rise sharply over the coming weeks due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant and the new timetable will run over the festive period as a result.
The new timetable will mean a marginal reduction in services - between 10-15% of the current timetable - and is designed to reduce late notice cancellations as much as possible.
TfW say the first, last and busiest services will continue to operate wherever possible. There will also be no change to the current level of service provided on the Sunday timetable.
The new timetable will remain in place over the coming weeks and will be reviewed regularly as the rail industry in Wales monitors the impact of the new Omicron variant.
All customers are urged to check timetables before travelling and follow the up-to-date guidance from the Welsh Government.
Omicron cases jump by 50% in one day in Wales
Wales now has more than 600 identified cases of the Omicron variant, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales.
On Tuesday the NHS trust confirmed that 204 more cases had been found to take the total to 640.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board now has nearly 150 cases, the most of any health board, followed by Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB and Swansea Bay UHB.
Dr Meng Khaw, national director for health protection and screening services for Public Health Wales, said: "Public Health Wales is today (Tuesday 21 December) confirming 204 new cases of Omicron variant in Wales, bringing us to a total of 640 cases.
"As we have indicated previously, a rapid increase over the coming days and weeks is expected.”
Based on the latest PHW data, Omicron is spreading fastest in Swansea Bay health board area, with a 65% jump in the number of Omicron cases in the last 24 hours.
The seven-day infection rate is rising quickly, having jumped sharply over the weekend and reaching 575 cases per 100,000 population on Tuesday. You can read the full bulletin here.
People in their twenties and thirties are driving up Wales' Covid infection rate
People in their twenties and thirties are driving up Wales' infection rate as it nears 600 cases per 100,000 population
The number of Covid cases among people aged 20-29 has doubled in the past seven days, while in the 30-39 age group, cases have jumped by nearly a third.
The latest data from Public Health Wales (PHW), for the week ending December 17, shows that it's working-age adults that are behind the latest spike in cases in Wales. November and December are typically months that see more social gatherings as offices and businesses hold their Christmas parties and people head to the shops for some Christmas shopping.
Wales has not yet seen the sustained rises in cases that have hit Scotland or London, but experts believe that it's a matter of weeks before we catch up. Covid cases in Wales rose significantly over this last weekend after several weeks of stability.
Confirmed cases among young adults (20-29 age group) have shot up from 1,973 to 4,367 in just a week. In the slightly older age group (30-39), the number of confirmed cases has risen from 2,903 to 3,793 in the same time period.
Meanwhile, cases among older age groups have dropped dramatically, in part an effect of the Covid vaccine as the majority of those aged 60+ have now received their booster jab. Read more about progress on Wales' booster vaccine rollout here.
For the week ending November 11, there were 1,564 confirmed cases for people aged 60-69 and 635 cases for people aged 70-79. For the latest week, ending December 17, these had dropped to 902 and 279 respectively, which means cases have nearly halved across both age groups in six weeks.
Infections among school aged children have generally dropped or remained stable over the past three weeks.
People in Wales can now be fined for not working from home
The Welsh Government has introduced new rules in Wales that people can be fined for not working from home when they are able to.
Workers in Wales have been advised to work from home where possible for months with the First Minister encouraging employers to allow them to do that.
However, from December 20 this has now been made part of the regulations.
This means that a person could be fined £60 if they go to work when they could work from home. Employers could be fined up to £10,000 if they repeatedly fail to allow people to work from home.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Additional measures have been introduced to limit the spread of the virus and protect public health.
“Further to our long-standing advice for people to work from home wherever possible, from Monday this will now be a legal requirement to work from home unless there is a reasonable excuse not to. We expect employers to take all reasonable steps to facilitate home working and provide employees with the support they need."
The regulations include a requirement for businesses to take all reasonable measures, including allowing or requiring people to work from home, to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus. According to the Welsh Government the enforcement approach can include premises improvement and closure notices. A person who fails to comply a notice could receive a fixed penalty notice of £1,000 for the first notice, rising to up to £10,000.
In relation to the requirement for individual employees to work from home, if enforcement is needed the standard fixed penalty notice applies (a fine of £60, reduced to £30 if paid in 14 days). Full details on this can be found here.
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