Summary

  • Non-essential shops in Wales have opened for the first time since the coronavirus lockdown was brought in

  • First Minister Mark Drakeford says he does not rule out easing social distancing to one metre if he is advised it is safe

  • A local lockdown could be enforced on Anglesey where 158 chicken factory workers have tested positive for Covid-19

  • Weddings may be held in Wales again, but guest numbers must be small

  • One more person has been confirmed as dying with coronavirus, Public Health Wales said on Monday, taking its total to 1,478

  1. Goodbyepublished at 15:16 BST 22 June 2020

    That's it for our live page coverage of coronavirus in Wales today.

    Here's a recap of Monday's main developments:

    We'll be back tomorrow with more live coverage of the coronavirus crisis, including the daily Welsh Government briefing at 12:30 BST.

    Until then, you can keep up to date with all the latest on coronavirus around the world here.

  2. Long queues as IKEA store reopenspublished at 15:14 BST 22 June 2020

    Customers were waiting in snaking queues as IKEA's Cardiff store reopened this morning with social distancing measures in place.

    Ikea queuesImage source, @stevewo
  3. City centre road closes for outdoor seating buildpublished at 15:12 BST 22 June 2020

    As non-essential shops in Wales reopen, Cardiff's Castle Street has closed to enable a covered, outdoor seating area to be built.

    Cardiff Council said it would be used by restaurants and cafes when they got the go-ahead to reopen.

    The authority said it would help them "serve customers they would otherwise lose" because of social distancing requirements on their premises.

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  4. Mural marks end of school hubpublished at 15:08 BST 22 June 2020

    Staff and volunteers at a school hub in Bridgend have painted a mural to commemorate its last day of operation.

    The mural at Maes yr Haul Primary School reads: "When the world stayed apart our hub came together".

    All schools in Wales are set to reopen on 29 June.

    Since the start of lockdown the only Welsh pupils who have seen the inside of a classroom have been children deemed to be vulnerable or those of key workers, who have been attending school hubs to enable their parents to continue doing their vital jobs.

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  5. WATCH: Customers return to Wales' high streets as shops reopenpublished at 15:03 BST 22 June 2020

    Media caption,

    Coronavirus: Customers return to Wales' shops as they reopen their doors

    After three months shut, many shops in Wales are opening for the first time since the start of lockdown.

    From Monday, non-essential stores can welcome customers back to their aisles.

    But with social distancing and hygiene measures in place, shopping will be a different experience from before the pandemic.

    Many businesses were "in a fight for survival," the Welsh Retail Consortium said.

  6. 'Perfectly safe and sensible' to relax two-metre rulepublished at 15:01 BST 22 June 2020

    The Welsh Conservatives are calling on First Minister Mark Drakeford to relax the two-metre social-distancing rule.

    Clwyd West member of the Senedd (MS) Darren Millar said it seemed "perfectly safe and sensible to relax the rule".

    Mr Drakeford says he has not ruled out reducing it to one metre.

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to relax the two-metre rule in England, with some conditions.

    Giving the daily Welsh Government press briefing, Mark Drakeford said he would do the same in Wales if his advisers said it was safe.

    The pub industry has been calling for the rule to be eased, saying they would struggle otherwise.

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  7. Chicken factory workers to be paid during quarantinepublished at 14:59 BST 22 June 2020

    Union leaders have welcomed the move by the 2 Sisters Food Group to pay all 560 staff employed at a Llangefni chicken processing factory as they self-isolate.

    So far, 158 workers there have tested positive for coronavirus.

    All staff will be paid in full during a two-week self-isolation period, paid for out of a £1m hardship fund established by the company to support employees during the current crisis.

    Unite Wales regional secretary Peter Hughes said: "The company has rightly recognised that their workforce should not suffer any financial detriment during this necessary process of quarantine."

  8. Bridgend schools to reopen for just three weekspublished at 14:54 BST 22 June 2020

    Bridgend council is the latest in Wales to say its schools will reopen for three weeks instead of four.

    The Welsh Government said it wanted to extend the summer term by a week to make up for time lost during the coronavirus crisis, which forced the closure of schools for all except vulnerable children and those of key workers.

    The local authority follows Cardiff, Newport, Monmouthshire, Caerphilly, Wrexham and Blaenau Gwent in announcing they will close on 17 July not 24.

    SchoolImage source, Getty Images
  9. Young people 'at risk of serious harm'published at 14:45 BST 22 June 2020

    Community health councils have warned that young people are at risk of serious harm from undiagnosed diabetes if coronavirus stops parents getting treatment for them.

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  10. When deaths with Covid-19 have occurred in Walespublished at 14:42 BST 22 June 2020

    This graph shows the number of deaths of people with Covid-19 in Wales that have been confirmed by Public Health Wales.

    Today it announced a single additional death for the third day running, all in north Wales.

    The graph shows the number of deaths according to the day they occurred, rather than the day they were announced.

    Daily deaths graph
  11. 'Profound effect' of Anglesey outbreakpublished at 14:36 BST 22 June 2020

    Local Democracy Reporting Service

    A Covid-19 outbreak at an Anglesey chicken plant has had a “profound effect” and caused “genuine fear”, local councillors say.

    After 158 members of staff at the 2 Sisters poultry preparation factory in Llangefni tested positive for coronavirus, the Welsh Government has not ruled out maintaining stricter lockdown restrictions on Anglesey to try and further contain its spread.

    Councillor Nicola Roberts, who represents Canolbarth Môn on Anglesey council, said she would not “relish” a local lockdown but would accept it if it was felt necessary.

    “My main concern would be people’s mental health if they were under lockdown while the rest of the country is carrying on as it has, although if necessary then we’d have to abide with it," she said.

    Carwyn Jones, Anglesey councillor responsible for economic development, added they would have to think carefully about allowing tourism to resume on the island.

    "Safeguarding and protecting the people of Anglesey is our key priority and all decisions going forward have to be made with safety first,” he said.

    2 Sisters factory, LlangefniImage source, Google
    Image caption,

    Officials have not ruled out special measures to tackle a coronavirus outbreak at the 2 Sisters factory at Llangefni

  12. How many people have died in each part of Wales?published at 14:31 BST 22 June 2020

    One further person with coronavirus has died in Wales, taking the total to 1,478.

    The death was declared by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which covers north Wales.

    This map shows the number of deaths announced to date by each health board.

    Map showing deaths
  13. Relaxation of two-metre distancing not ruled out in Walespublished at 14:11 BST 22 June 2020

    The first minister of Wales says he has not ruled out reducing the two-metre social distancing rule to one metre.

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to relax the two-metre rule in England, with some conditions.

    Giving the daily Welsh Government press briefing, Mark Drakeford said he would do the same in Wales if his advisers said it was safe.

    The pub industry has been calling for the rule to be eased, saying they would struggle otherwise.

    Media caption,

    Coronavirus social distancing advice: What two metres looks like

  14. One more dies with coronavirus in Walespublished at 13:57 BST 22 June 2020
    Breaking

    Another person has died with coronavirus in Wales, taking the total to 1,478.

    Public Health Wales (PHW) figures also show there were 71 new cases reported, meaning 15,197 people have tested positive for Covid-19.

    PHW publishes daily statistics of deaths, mostly occurring in hospitals, but only when the virus has been confirmed by laboratories.

    The figures for deaths are revised and numbers are added to the correct date retrospectively.

    Office for National Statistics figures are published weekly and include all registered deaths, including those in care homes and at home, where Covid-19 is suspected, as well as laboratory-confirmed cases.

  15. Prisoner Covid-19 deaths revealedpublished at 13:51 BST 22 June 2020

    A total of 23 prisoners and nine jail staff in England and Wales have died after testing positive for Covid-19, the UK government has confirmed.

    One prisoner was at Berwyn jail in Wrexham and another at Usk, Monmouthshire.

    The figures, to 12 June, have been given in a written parliamentary answer to Liz Saville Roberts MP, the Plaid Cymru justice spokeswoman.

    Three of those who died were at HMP Littlehey, the Cambridgeshire jail for male sex offenders.

    There were two each at Altcourse, Liverpool, and Channings Wood, Devon. Two staff members died from both Pentonville, London, and Wymott prisons, Lancashire.

    Justice Minister Lucy Frazer said: “The government has put robust measures in place to protect staff and offenders from Covid-19 and introduce ‘compartmentalisation’ to isolate those prisoners with symptoms, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals.”

    Prison
  16. 'Localised lockdown possible if supported by evidence'published at 13:26 BST 22 June 2020

    First Minister Mark Drakeford has said if there is a public need to impose a localised lockdown on Anglesey to stop the spread of Covid-19, he would introduce the measures - but his approach would be “proportionate” and based on evidence.

    Mr Drakeford was responding to the outbreak at the 2 Sisters meat processing plant in Llangefni, where 158 workers tested positive for the virus.

    Speaking during the Welsh Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, the first minister said he was speaking to local health officials on the island this afternoon to review what was happening and to see whether further measures needed to be put in place.

    Mr Drakeford added that the outbreak had been in a closed setting and the success of the testing and tracing system meant the Welsh Government was able to keep on top of whether the virus had spread any further from the factory into the wider community.

    Commenting on whether there was a need for a localised lockdown, he said: “Our approach will be proportionate, it will draw on the evidence, it will draw on local intelligence and information and then we will take the action that is required in a way that responds directly to the outbreak, but doesn't do so in a way that unfairly places restrictions on people where there would be no public health advantage to doing so."

    2 Sisters factoryImage source, Google
  17. No 'virtue of hindsight' for care homes testingpublished at 13:19 BST 22 June 2020

    The first minister insisted the Welsh Government followed the advice they were given in discharging asymptomatic hospital patients back into care homes without testing them for Covid-19 in the early days of the pandemic.

    He was asked after it emerged that 1,000 patients were discharged without being tested, with Care Forum Wales saying this turned "safe havens into coronavirus warzones".

    Mark Drakeford said ministers did not have “the virtue of hindsight” when they had to make decisions to deal with the pandemic.

    “Early on, the advice to was test symptomatic people, anybody who had symptoms were tested before they left hospital, and the advice early on was that the testing of people without symptoms would not have given useful outcomes," he said.

    “When the advice changed, we changed the practice.

    "We changed practice probably three times during the coronavirus crisis in relation to care homes and whenever the advice changed, that’s what the government did.”

    Care homesImage source, Getty Images
  18. 'More to do' to tackle discrimination, says first ministerpublished at 13:02 BST 22 June 2020

    First Minister Mark Drakeford says there "certainly is more to do" in addressing tackling discrimination and disadvantage for black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) people in Wales.

    He pointed to the "need for us to do more" to ensure decision-makers in Wales "reflect the society in which we live".

    Mr Drakeford added that "we have had a proud cross-party commitment in Wales throughout the devolution era" to addressing discrimination people from different backgrounds face in Wales, but said "there is more to do."

    The first minister was responding to a question about the Welsh Government advisory group report into the impact of Covid-19 on Wales' BAME communities, which highlighted a "lack of action on race equality".

    Mr Drakeford added: "Before the coronavirus crisis hit, we had commissioned and concluded a radical review of the way in which public appointments are made here in Wales.

    "[The review is to] make sure the people who are appointed to those important positions reflect the diversity of Wales.

    "We are going to implement that report and we're going to begin its implementation as soon as we are able to resume making public appointments in Wales."

  19. Report 'touches on all aspects of life'published at 12:54 BST 22 June 2020

    Mark Drakeford

    First Minister Mark Drakeford says a report into the impact of Covid-19 on black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people "touches on all aspects of life".

    He said it highlighted issues ranging "from housing conditions and higher levels of mental illness to the way we teach children in schools and collect data about ethnicity".

    Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government would work with the education watchdog Estyn to ensure a review of Welsh history teaching takes full account of "Welsh, and wider BAME (black, Asian or ethnic minority) history, identity and culture".

    The first minister said he would set up a working group to oversee the development of learning resources and identify gaps in current resources or training.

    He said a helpline was being set up to provide guidance and support for BAME communities in response to the pandemic.

    Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government was already working with health and social care employers and trades unions on Covid risk assessments for BAME employees and he hoped to roll this out to other workplaces and sectors in Wales.

    These risk assessments should be seen as "an investment in people and not a burden", he said.

  20. BAME report 'sobering and powerful'published at 12:43 BST 22 June 2020

    First Minister Mark Drakeford says today's report looking at the underlying socio-economic and environmental issues impacting black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities is "sobering and powerful".

    Written by Prof Emmanuel Ogbonna, Mr Drakeford says the report "speaks of people’s lived experienced of racism, a persisting culture of racial discrimination and structural inequalities in Wales".

    The first minister said the report states that the coronavirus pandemic “has further exposed existing racial inequalities in Wales”.

    Mr Drakeford added: "We know that coronavirus has targeted areas of inequality and deprivation in Wales – as Prof Ogbonna says, being black, Asian or from an ethnic minority pre-disposes people to the discrimination that makes it difficult for them to cope with the pandemic."