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The Welsh government will reintroduce Level 2 Covid-19 measures from 26 December 2021 in a bid to tackle the Omicron variant which includes bringing back the ‘rule of six’.
From Boxing Day, the alert Level 2 measures will mean the rule of six will apply to gatherings in regulated premises, such as hospitality, cinemas and theatres.
Face coverings will be required in hospitality settings at all times apart from when seated.
Large events will not be allowed indoors or outdoors with the maximum number of people who can gather at an indoor event restricted to between 30 and 50 outdoors.
To help the most affected sectors, £120m will be available for nightclubs, retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses affected by the move to alert level 2.
However, David Chapman, executive director for UKHospitality Cymru stated that the new restrictions “virtually close Wales’ events industry and take all other hospitality businesses much further into sub-viable trading”.
Although accepting the impact of the support package, he argues that it still “falls way short of the huge scale of the business that will be lost”.
Chapman said: “Today’s news here means we need the UK government to help our businesses in Wales immediately and make more assistance available – and do it quickly. If not, there could be very serious permanent damage done to this industry in just a few weeks.”
