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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Cathy Owen

When the coronavirus rules will change for travelling to and from Wales

Rules on travelling within Wales will change from Saturday (March 27) giving people more freedom but there will still be restrictions for travelling to different parts of the UK.

Different lockdown restrictions remain in place in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The lifting of travel restrictions from Saturday mean that for the first time in three months people from within Wales will be allowed to travel anywhere in the country.

However, until April 12, only those with a reasonable excuse, such as going to work, will be able to travel into or out of Wales.

Talking about when people will be able to travel across the border, First Minister Mark Drakeford said the rules in England mean travel between the two countries can not happen until April 12 at the earliest.

You must have a reasonable excuse to be able to travel to England.

"For the next two weeks, people will be able to cross the border (to England) for the same things they can now. If you work across the border, if you go to school, if you have a hospital appointment you can do that," he told BBC Radio Wales.

"If things changed in England on April 12, then we will bring our rules in line with theirs and then people will be able to travel more freely."

He said people who are booking self contained accommodation must check that they are only taking bookings for people who are resident in Wales.

Mr Drakeford said: "Other than that, we will have to rely on the fact that people in England will follow the rules in England and if people do try to travel where they are not meant to travel then our police forces are used to policing the rules.

"The law will be consistent on both sides of the border."

Haven holidays have announced that the majority of parks in Wales will re-open from April 2, but have said they have to cancel any booking made from people in other parts of the UK.

A statement said: "As a result of the restrictions we will regrettably have to cancel breaks from guests living in England, Scotland and Ireland for those due to arrive prior to 12 April.

"We are contacting these guests directly with regard to the options available to them. We look forward to welcoming them back to Haven later in the year."

Some rules in England do change from Monday, March 29, allowing for people to reunite for the first time in months.

The change in the rules on March 29 will bring back the rule of six from different households, or an unlimited number of people from two households but the message remains to stay local.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said that the stay at home measures would lift on April 2 (Good Friday) and be replaced with being allowed to travel within a local authority for a non-essential purpose.

Travel within Scotland should be allowed from April 26, but travel from other parts of the UK will still only be for essential reasons with no date yet for lifting that restriction.

In Northern Ireland, the current regulations will be reviewed on April 15. At the moment a stay at home rule is in place and you can only travel for work, education or other essential purpose. You should not travel more than 10 miles from your home to exercise.

If you are arriving into Northern Ireland from the UK and you plan to remain for at least 24 hours, public health advice is that you should self-isolate upon arrival for 10 days.

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