Here are the coronavirus headlines for Wednesday, September 10, as the Welsh Government won its Covid pass vote but won't bring in compulsory jabs for NHS staff.
In England, the UK government has confirmed that it will require all frontline NHS staff to be fully vaccinated against Covid. It follows on from a decision earlier this year to make jabs for people working in care homes mandatory in England, which comes into force on Thursday.
But Wales' health minister Eluned Morgan has said that she doesn't see the need to do the same in Wales.
Asked about it at the Welsh Government press conference on Tuesday, she said: "We know that in Wales 95% of our healthcare workers have taken the opportunity to have both doses of the vaccine. We think that those levels are very high and we're content with those levels. We're still trying to persuade that final 5% but we know that within that some people have medical reasons why they can't have both doses of the jab."
And she went on to say it was "shocking" that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was pictured not wearing a mask, describing it as hypocritical to force people to get jabbed when the PM didn't wear a mask.
She said: "It is shocking that you have the UK Government insisting that people in the NHS be double vaccinated, but the Prime Minister of the UK can walk into a hospital without even a face mask on.
"I do think this underlines the degree of hypocrisy that is going on amongst the Conservative government."
Covid passes are being extended in Wales
meaning that people going to cinemas and theatres in Wales will be required to show a Covid pass from next week.
At present Covid passes – which show people have been fully vaccinated, have tested negative for coronavirus, or have recently had the virus – are used to allow people to enter large events and nightclubs.
But after Plaid Cymru backed the Welsh Government in a Senedd vote the use of Covid passes will cover cinemas, theatres, and concert halls from November 15.
Ahead of the vote health minister Eluned Morgan warned that Wales still has the highest Covid rate in the UK as she gave an update on the latest coronavirus situation during the weekly Welsh Government briefing on Tuesday. Live updates here.
Describing the introduction of passes for nightclubs and major events as a success, she said: "Today we will bring forward regulations in the Senedd to extend the use of the Covid Pass to cinemas, concert halls and theatres.
"These are all indoor, ticketed venues, where people are in close contact with others for long periods of time. Extending the Covid Pass is one more way we can strengthen the measures we have in place at alert level zero, when rates are this high, to help keep us safe and to keep Wales open."
There were protests outside the Senedd during the vote.
Read more: For more health-related content please go here
Fears NHS could be overwhelmed
Following the vote Health Minister Eluned Morgan said the Covid pass was just one measure to help keep businesses open.
Earlier, she had said she was "extremely reluctant" to bring in additional restrictions ahead of Christmas but said if it was the only way to bring infection rates down, then she would not hesitate. Welsh Government is 'really, really fearful' that NHS in Wales could be overwhelmed this winter.
The Welsh Government is closely monitoring the situation in Welsh hospitals, where 75 people are currently in ICU confirmed as having the virus (as of November 5). On the same date last year, there were 48 people with confirmed coronavirus, with a further five recovering and another seven as suspected.
Ms Morgan said on Tuesday: "Clearly we're keeping an eye on the situation." She added it is difficult to separate the normal winter pressure and the additional pressure brought about by Covid. Read live updates and reaction to Tuesday's briefing here.
She began her answer to questions by saying: "I've got to underline the fact that the NHS is under incredible pressure. The public do need to understand that they also have a responsibility here to take the pressure off the NHS."
She said the Government had looked at ways of getting people to wear masks in accordance with the law, including more hard-line enforcement by police forces and local authorities.
Latest coronavirus rate for Wales
A further five people have died with coronavirus in Wales according to the latest figures from Public Health Wales.
New figures published on Tuesday, November 9, which covers the last 24 hour period, shows the total number of Covid-related deaths in Wales now stands at 6,242.
There were also 1,784 new positive cases recorded in the latest update bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 461,109.
The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales based on the cases for every 100,000 people (for the seven days up to November 4) now stands at 527.7 – another drop from the 536.9 reported on Monday.
The local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales is now Vale of Glamorgan with 753.1 cases per 100,000 population over seven days followed by Torfaen with 720.5 and Caerphilly with 659.9. Cases for your area here.
Many NHS staff not routinely tested amid second wave
Frontline NHS staff in some Welsh hospitals were not regularly tested for Covid-19 until near the end of the second wave, according to research by BBC Wales.
Routine testing was announced in December, but it was not introduced in some hospitals until as late as March.
The British Medical Association (BMA) said it "seemed to take an inordinate amount of time" to introduce testing.
The Welsh government said the NHS in Wales had followed "UK infection prevention and control guidance".
To date, Public Health Wales has recorded 8,075 cases of Covid probably or definitely caught in hospitals.
More than half of those infections happened between the beginning of October 2020 and the end of February 2021.
Now information obtained by the BBC's Wales Live programme shows while some frontline workers had routine lateral flow tests from December, the policy was not rolled out to many hospitals until mid-February.
Concerns about mandatory vaccines for frontline NHS staff in England
Concerns have been raised that making vaccines compulsory for frontline NHS staff in England could lead some workers to leave.
UK Health Secretary announced on Tuesday that it will be mandatory for NHS to be fully vaccinated against Covid.
He told MPs that he expected to set a deadline for the beginning of April to give 103,000 unvaccinated workers time to get both jabs.
He said the move would help protect patients and the NHS as a whole.
More than 93% of NHS frontline staff have had their first dose and 90% are fully vaccinated, Javid said. That is higher than the general working-age population, where about 81% have had both doses.
The government's decision follows a consultation which considered whether both the Covid and flu jabs should be compulsory.
Mr Javid said the flu vaccine would not be made mandatory.
Those with a medical reason not to have the Covid jab would be exempt, he said, as would those who do not have face-to-face contact with patients.
In a Commons statement, Mr Javid said compulsory vaccination would "protect patients in the NHS, protect colleagues in the NHS and, of course, protect the NHS itself".
He said the requirement would be enforced 12 weeks after parliamentary approval - likely to be from April.
Charles suggests planing memorial avenues to remember loved ones lost to Covid
The Prince of Wales has suggested avenues of hedgerows and trees could be planted across the country to commemorate those who lost their lives in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Heir to throne Charles has written for Country Life magazine to mark his 73rd birthday on Sunday, and highlighted the environmental importance of hedgerows as "the country's single biggest Nature reserve".
The prince, who is a keen hedgelayer himself, described his own battle with prickly trees and shrubs each winter.
He has planted more than 15 miles of hedgerows at his Gloucestershire home Highgrove over the years, and at the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, which he manages on behalf of the Queen, he has also been encouraging further hedgelaying.
Raising the prospect of planting in memory of victims of the pandemic, the prince wrote: "I have always felt that avenues are a wonderful enhancement to the landscape and give great pleasure to so many people, as well as providing another way of planting more trees in general.
"Over the past two years of this dreadful pandemic, I have also felt that commemorating all those who have so tragically died through planting avenues in their memory in different parts of the country, whether in towns, cities or the countryside, might be something worth considering."
French President urges acceleration of Covid booster rollout
In France, Emmanuel Macron has called for an acceleration of Covid-19 booster shots for elderly and vulnerable people in France and announced that many citizens will need a third vaccination for a valid health pass from next month.
In a televised address, the French president said “the pandemic is not over” and warned of the emergence of a fifth wave of infections in Europe, citing a significant rise in cases in the UK and Germany. He said the incidence rate of Covid infections in France had also recently risen.
In a speech from the Élysée Palace – his ninth televised speech to the nation since the start of the pandemic – Macron said mask-wearing would be maintained in schools, and social distancing and mask-wearing in enclosed public spaces must continue. He said vaccination would be stepped up, adding: “To those not yet vaccinated: get vaccinated. Get vaccinated to protect yourselves. Get vaccinated to live normally.”
Russia struggles to contain record-breaking coronavirus outbreak
Russia's Covid-19 cases hit another one-day record as the country struggles to contain a wave of infections and deaths that has persisted for more than a month.
The national coronavirus task force on Saturday reported 41,335 new cases since the previous day, exceeding the previous daily record of 40,993 from October 31.
The task force said 1,188 people with Covid-19 died, just seven fewer than the daily death record reported.
Officials cite Russia's low vaccination rate as a major factor in the sharp rise in cases that began in mid-September.
To get the latest coronavirus news sent straight to your email inbox sign up for our free Covid newsletter by clicking here .
.png?w=600)
