Mark Drakeford has outlined four things he wants people in Wales to do to slow the spread of the omicron variant in Wales.
Speaking at the Welsh Government's three week review into the Covid restrictions the First Minister of Wales presented a gloomy few months ahead. He outlined what he thought the best and worst case scenarios for Covid were while on people to follow four pieces of advice to slow the spread to help the Welsh Government roll out the booster jabs.
He told the press conference: "None of us wanted to hear about the news of this new omicron variant. After almost two long years of the pandemic, we had all hoped that we could put coronavirus behind us this Christmas. Unfortunately, we are once again facing an uncertain future."
The four things he asked people to do were:
- Take lateral flow tests before going out and mixing
- Students returning from university should take a test before travelling home
- Work from home if you possibly can
- Follow the recently extended face covering rules
He added: "There are things we can all do to help protect ourselves and disrupt the transmission of coronavirus," he said. "We strongly urge everyone to flow before they go.
"This means taking a lateral flow test before going out – whether that’s to a Christmas party; Christmas shopping; visiting friends or family; going to any crowded or busy place or before travelling. If it’s positive, don’t go out. Arrange for a PCR test and self-isolate.
"Students preparing to leave college and university for Christmas should test before travel.
"Everyone should wear face coverings in pubs and restaurants, when they aren’t eating or drinking and everyone must wear a face covering in most other indoor public places, in line with the law, including in cinemas and theatres.
"Wherever you can, you should work from home."
