Extended four household bubble & obligatory collection of customer data to help track and trace could be announced next week

Up to four households in Wales could be allowed to merge together to form one extended bubble next week, if coronavirus conditions remain stable.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed that people could be be able to see more of their family and friends as part of the next review of Wales’ coronavirus restriction.

The intention is that from Saturday 22nd August:

• Up to four households will be able to join together to form a single extended household.
• A meal following a wedding, civil partnership or funeral will be allowed for up to 30 people indoors if social distancing can be maintained.

However, the Welsh Government will not be making any changes to the rules on people meeting indoors with people who aren’t part of their household or extended household. This means that people should only visit pubs, restaurants or other places indoors with people from their household or extended household.

The Welsh Government will also introduce new enforcement powers to make sure all premises follow Covid rules.

Amendments to the regulations will also come into force next week to make it obligatory for hospitality businesses and other high-risk settings to collect contact details of customers.

Welsh Government say collecting this information is “essential” for Wales’ test trace protect strategy for testing the general public and preventing the spread of coronavirus. Placing this in the regulations “will make it clear to managers of premises and to customers that collecting information of this sort is a requirement, not an option”, locally we have been told of some less than convincing collection of data.

One such example has been documented by a concerned reader detailing a visit to a local McDonalds, “I stopped for a burger and coffee in McDonalds, no one asking to fill in contract tracking, just a QR code on a poster.”

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Wales has come together to tackle the spread of this virus and the action we have taken together has made a real difference. The number of cases continue to fall and this means we will be able introduce new changes to allow up to four households to come together and form an extended household.

“These are cautious, step by step changes. We are learning from what is happening across the UK and outbreaks are mainly linked to people meeting others inside the home.

“That is why it is so important we don’t invite people outside our extended households into our homes. We have made so much progress and we mustn’t jeopardise this. That means we are not at a point where we should be visiting anyone’s home at any time. Regulations on meeting outdoors were recently changed to make it easier to do, and this remains by far the safest way to meet.

“There are also indications from other parts of the UK where pubs opened earlier than Wales that outbreaks have been linked to those places.

“If we are to avoid introducing local lockdown measures that could require the whole sector to close, it is vital we can quickly respond to any outbreaks. Providing our contact details when attending these premises will mean people can be contacted quickly by our Test Trace Protect teams if they may have been exposed to coronavirus.

“Only by us all doing our part and taking personal responsibility for our actions can we continue to tackle the scourge of coronavirus.

“For individuals, this means keeping a two metre distance from others, washing our hands often and wearing a facecovering on public transport.

“For businesses this means taking action to protect customers, including taking their contact details so we can identify any outbreaks.

“While many businesses are being careful to collect contact details, there are too many reports of this not happening. As a result, we will be bringing in new regulations next week to make this compulsory.

“This pandemic is far from over and we all still have a duty to do our part to keep Wales safe.”

The Welsh Government recently strengthened the powers local authorities have to enforce the regulations. This enables enforcement officers to issue a Premises Improvement Notice to highlight breaches and specify measures that need be taken on premises to comply with the law.

Where a Premises Improvement Notice is not complied with, or if there is a serious breach, premises can be closed by issuing a Premises Closure Notice. Where notices are issued signs will be displayed in a prominent place to inform people that improvement is needed or that a premises has had to close.

Full details will be made public at the now regular live lunchtime briefing on Friday’s when regulation changes are announced.