Concerns Welsh will pop to England for pint as First Minister 'strongly advises' no travel
03 Dec 2020 3 minute read
Photo by Louis Hansel @shotsoflouis on Unsplash
The Welsh Government have said that they "strongly advise" people not to travel to other parts of the UK but will only ban travel to the highest incidence Covid-19 areas.
This comes as Conservatives have voiced fears that banning pubs from selling alcohol in Wales while allowing people to travel to England will lead to people travelling over the border for a pint.
Welsh Conservative health spokesperson Andrew RT Davies said that allowing people to travel while banning Welsh pubs from selling alcohol did not make practical sense.
"While I welcome [being able to travel into England], it does show the farce of Welsh Labour's alcohol ban," he said.
"People can now travel into England for a pint a pub, but pubs in Wales are barred from serving them. These barmy rules will be devastating for the Welsh hospitality industry."
Only travel between Wales and areas of the UK without high rates of coronavirus will be allowed from 6pm tomorrow, First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed.
Wales' coronavirus regulations will be amended to prohibit travel to and from tier three areas in England; level three and four areas in Scotland and the whole of Northern Ireland, which is currently in lockdown.
New travel guidance will also be issued strongly advising people in Wales not to travel to other parts of the UK with lower levels of coronavirus.
'Review'
"There will be no restrictions on travel within Wales but we need to have some restrictions on travel across the border to those parts of the UK where infection rates are high to prevent the spread of coronavirus," First Minister Mark Drakeford said.
"We are also advising people in Wales not to travel into those parts of England and Scotland where the infection rate is lower, to help prevent them taking coronavirus with them.
"Coronavirus doesn't respect borders – we all have a part to play in keeping Wales and the UK safe. Please think carefully about where you are going and what you are doing. This virus thrives wherever we come together with others.
"Taken together with our other measures, these travel restrictions will help to keep us all safe."
People from Wales will be required to follow any legal restrictions, including relating to travel, which are in place in other parts of the UK.
All travel restrictions within the UK will be suspended between 23 and 27 December to allow people to meet members of their Christmas bubble. People travelling to and from Northern Ireland will be able to travel the day before this period starts and the day after.
The travel restrictions are likely to remain in place until at least January 2021 but will be kept under constant review.
International travel restrictions will continue and are also likely to remain in place until at least January, but will be kept under constant review.