Covid: What will you be able to do in Wales lockdown?

Major restrictions to people’s lives are set to be introduced as Wales enters a “firebreak” lockdown.

From 18:00 BST on Friday people living in Wales

are being told to stay at home.

Pubs, bars and restaurants, gyms, and all non-essential shops will be closed.

But what does it mean, and what are you actually able to do from 23 October to 9 November without breaking the law?

Similar to during the first lockdown in March, people are being told to stay at home in a bid to curb the spread of coronavirus in Wales.

You will only be allowed to leave your house to go to the shops to buy essential food and medication, and to provide care, or to take exercise.

You should also work from home unless it is not possible.

All but essential shops will close from 18:00 BST on Friday.

While people are not limited to their local authority, they are being told to shop as close to home as possible and not travel long distances.

Supermarkets, pharmacies, post offices and banks will remain open.

No. Under the new rules people cannot mix with others they do not live with.

From Friday evening you will not be able to meet others indoors, or socialise outdoors, such as in parks or people’s gardens.

During local lockdowns people living alone were allowed to meet one other household indoors from their local areas, after concerns about isolation.

From Friday, this will continue, with people who live alone being the only ones able to meet someone they do not live with.

This has to be the same person every time. But they can live anywhere, due to this being a national lockdown.

Expect to see a return to the days of Zoom chats, virtual parties, people waving at each other from the end of drives, and people leaving shopping on door steps.

Primary and special schools will re-open as normal on 2 November after the half-term break – there is no extra time off.

In secondary schools only pupils in Years 7 and 8 will go back to class.

Pupils sitting exams will be able to go in to take them but all other pupils will continue their learning from home for an extra week.

Childcare facilities will stay open during the 17 days in a bid to keep schools open.

Grandparents and other relatives can still care for children, but only if no other methods of childcare are available.

Where parents live apart, children will be allowed to continue to stay with both parents, with arrangements continuing as normal.

No – from 18:00 BST on Friday pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels will be closed for 17 days.

This is similar to the first Wales-wide lockdown back in March. Beer gardens will be shut, and people are being warned not to drink in their friends’ homes or gardens, or to gather in parks.

Pubs and food establishments will be able to operate as takeaways.

Hotels and businesses in the tourism sector will not reopen until 9 November.

No, travelling to go on holiday in Wales, or outside Wales, including abroad, is not classed as “essential” travel during lockdown.

If you have pre-booked and paid for a holiday, the Welsh Government is advising people to contact their travel company to discuss the situation.

If you live outside of Wales or within Wales, travelling to stay, visit or check on your second home will be illegal.

You can travel to provide care or to help someone in need – such as an older person, a child or a vulnerable adult – even if they are not part of your household.

You can travel to visit someone on “compassionate grounds”.

This may apply if you are worried someone is struggling with being isolated due to the restrictions, is having issues with their mental or physical health, has recently lost a loved one, or you are concerned about their wellbeing or welfare.

Travel across the border is now limited to “essential travel”.

This includes providing care, or if you need to visit on compassionate grounds.

People who live in Wales but work over the border will be able to travel, if they cannot work from home.

Indoor visits to care homes may be allowed but only in “exceptional circumstances”, such as for end-of-life visits.

But this is up to local councils and individual homes to decide if it can be done safely, and must be prearranged.

Similar rules apply to hospital and children’s home visits.

No – gyms, pools and leisure centres will be closed for the 17 days.

However local parks, playgrounds and outdoor gyms will remain open.

Yes – under the new national lockdown you can leave your house for exercise.

Unlike back in March, there will be no limit to how many times you can leave the house to exercise or how far you can run, cycle, walk or jog, or to where – as local lockdown boundaries have now ended.

But exercising with others, such as running and cycling clubs, will not be allowed, and you should start your exercise from home.

People are being asked not to drive anywhere to do sport as exercise, unless they have specific health reasons, and people are banned from driving “significant distances” to get to mountains, beaches and beauty spots.

The government is also asking people to avoid activities which involve a “significant degree of risk”, such as open water swimming and water sports.

Golf and tennis clubs will be required to close during the period of the lockdown.

The autumn Internationals and professional football will be allowed to continue behind closed doors, and be broadcast into people’s homes.

Sportspeople who work and earn a living through sport are allowed to continue working, and like everyone else they can leave home to do so if they cannot work from home.

However, elite athletes in sports such as boxing, gymnastics, judo, swimming and athletics who live and train in Wales will see programmes suspended.

All community, amateur sport and training will be suspended during the 17 day period.

People living in houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) who are single are able to “bubble up” with another household in Wales.

This also applies to students living in HMOs and to people in supported living arrangements with individual tenancies.

You can travel, but only for a “reasonable” cause.

These include trips to buy essential items – such as food and medication – to seek medical help, get a coronavirus test, or to deliver care.

You can also travel to work, but only if you are a critical worker, or you do a job where you cannot work from home.

Travelling to go on holiday will be against the law.

Also, people from outside Wales are also told they cannot visit on holiday.

Cases have been confirmed at university halls of residence, with thousands of students self-isolating on campuses across Wales.

During the 17 days students have been told not to head home, but to stay where they are.First Minister Mark Drakeford added: “In the same way we are asking everyone to stay at home, if students have reading weeks or half-term they will also need to stay at home in their university accommodation.”

During the last lockdown thousands of vulnerable people with medical conditions and the elderly where told to stay in the house and shield, due to being high-risk from the virus.

However, the Welsh Government is not re-introducing shielding for such people.

The first minister said this was because if everyone stuck strictly to the rules the risk of exposure would be reduced.

People are being advised to shop at quieter times of the day if they are high risk.

Many people resorted to home cuts during the last national lockdown back in March, with hairdressers trying to repair dodgy shaves and cuts when they reopened.

Once again, from Friday you will have to wait until you can see your hairdresser again.

Hair salons, barbers, and beauticians will be closed until the end of the national lockdown.

During this 17-day lockdown places of worship will be closed to congregations, apart from the holding of weddings, civil partnerships and funerals.

Numbers allowed at ceremonies will depend on how many people can fit in the venue, with social distancing in place.

Receptions are banned once again.

Funerals can go ahead, with social distancing in place, and numbers depending on the venue size.

You will not be allowed to host a wake or any gathering following the funeral.

Yes, you can move house, if you cannot delay the moving date until after the short lockdown period is over.

However, property viewings cannot take place during the circuit-breaker period and high street estate agencies are required to close.

You can still get repairs done in your house, but only if the work is urgent and not getting it fixed would “pose a direct risk to people’s safety”.

If the MoT on your vehicle is due, you should still take it to the garage.

Driving lessons are banned, and driving tests will not be going ahead.

This will be an autumn like no other.

With people banned from meeting outdoors, trick-or-treating and fireworks are both off.

The ban will be “self-policing”, says First Minister Mark Drakeford.

However, planned Remembrance Day events on Sunday 8 November – just hours before the new lockdown ends – will be allowed to go ahead.

You may be told to go home or removed from where you are and returned home.

You could have to pay a fixed penalty notice of £60. This will rise to £120 for the second breach.

Or you could have criminal proceedings brought against you and, if found guilty, you will have to pay a fine.

The first minister has suggested there will not be a return to local lockdown measures in Wales once the 17 days are over.

Instead of different communities having different rules, Mr Drakeford has stressed the need for national rules, which will apply in all parts of Wales, so that people will know who they can spend time with over the festive period.

It remains to be seen what these measures will be.