The Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford has said on Friday that he wants to allow 3.1m residents “breathing space” which is needed to get through to Christmas “without further disruptions of this sort.”
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, a “circuit breaker” or a short term lockdown will not get rid of the virus, but Wales needs time to fight against infections.
Drakeford said, “It is very important to say a circuit-breaker is not a magic wand of any sort – it doesn’t make coronavirus disappear. What it does is to buy us time to be able to manage the difficulties we face over a longer period, and in a better planned way.
“Our ambition is that if we do, and it’s still an if, if we do decide on a circuit-breaker, that will be sufficient to take us through to Christmas.”
This comes after the country reported a further 979 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 34,005 on Friday.
Public Health Wales (PHW) said there has been five further deaths, with the total number of deaths since the beginning of the pandemic rising to 1,703.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Friday that Wales has an estimated 7,900 infections, in private homes between 2 to 8 October, which is 0.26% of the population.
According to SAGE the UK’s R number has risen to between 1.3 and 1.5, up from 1.2 and 1.5 last week.
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