Wales has three weeks to get Covid cases down or face restrictions, warns Mark Drakeford

WALES has three weeks to get Covid cases down or face fresh restrictions, gloomy Mark Drakeford warned today.

The First Minister also paved the way for vaccine passports to be used in pubs and restaurants to bring down rising infections.

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Boris Johnson this morning held his nerve as Downing Street said there were still "no plans" to follow with more restrictions in England.

Wales has battled its highest Covid rates since the pandemic began over the last three weeks with more people hospitalised.

Measures introduced this morning to tackle the spread requires people in Wales to have a Covid pass to go to the theatre or cinema.

As part of the crackdown shops are also encouraged to enforce mask-wearing and people urged to work from home.

At a press conference Mr Drakeford said: "We hope this action will help to turn the tide of this Delta."

There were 2,664 new positive cases recorded in today's update,
bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 432,395.

Putting the country on notice the Labour FM warned: "None us wants to see a return to restrictions but if rates continue to rise, the cabinet will have no choice but to consider raising the alert level at the next review."

Raising the alert level from the current 0 would see more restrictions imposed on the country.

He said it could include vaccine passports being extended for drinkers in the nation's boozers.

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He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We can certainly extend the Covid pass into other settings. We will be talking to hospitality over the next three weeks to help them to prepare, should that be necessary. We hope it won't be, of course.

"The current level of restrictions in Wales are the lowest they have been since coronavirus began. I want it to stay that way, to keep Wales safe, to keep Wales open.

"What I'm saying to people today is unless we work together to bring the numbers down, if they're up again in three weeks' time, we'll all have to be thinking again."

Fears the tightening in Wales could bounce Mr Johnson into launching his Plan B in England were dismissed by Downing St.

The PM's official spokesman said: "We work closely with Wales and the other administrations and the chief scientific adviser and the chief medical officer regularly engages and speaks to them.

"But we have set out in our ultimate Plan A and Plan B in terms of what they would look like.

As the Prime Minister has said, he sees nothing to suggest that we need to move away from Plan A."

Plan B would bring back mandatory masks, working from home and vaccine passports.