Final ‘fire break’ decision to be made by Welsh Cabinet in morning

A decision on if there will be a ‘circuit break’ or ‘fire break’ style lockdown across Wales will be made in the morning.

Tonight a Welsh Government spokesperson said: “The measures we have put in place at both a local and a national level, with help from the people of Wales, have kept the spread of Covid-19 under check.”

“However, there is a growing consensus we now need to introduce a different set of measures and actions to respond to the virus as it continues to spread across Wales more quickly during the autumn and winter months ahead.”

“Ministers have held a number of meetings over the weekend with senior Welsh Government officials, scientists and public health experts to consider their advice on a potential need for a ‘fire break’ set of measures to control the virus.”

“The Welsh Cabinet met this evening to consider that advice. The Cabinet will meet again tomorrow morning to make a final decision. The First Minister will update the people of Wales on any decisions taken tomorrow.”

Tonight saw a WLGA meeting take place however no outcomes, if any, of that meeting have been made public. The WLGA also let on Friday for discussions, with each Council Leader across Wales attending along with Government Ministers and other representatives. That follows a week of consultation with a range of stakeholders and sectors, as noted by the First Minister in the lunchtime briefing on Friday.

Emergency meeting of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) this evening – local authority leaders and officers across Wales expecting to be informed of Welsh Government ‘circuit break’ decision.

— North.Wales (@northdotwales) October 18, 2020

Yesterday morning members of the Confederation of Passenger Transport Cymru union shared copies of a letter on Facebook from their Chairman that referred to a possible ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown coming in from Friday – a letter that the author said was genuine, but distanced himself from it being absolute fact: “The letter is genuine and it contains what I assume or surmised would be the position,” he told the BBC.

The First Minister is set to take a lunchtime briefing at 12:15pm tomorrow, a change from the normal Health Minister briefing pattern.