Covid passes may be used to keep pubs open at Christmas

Covid passes may be used over Christmas in order to keep pubs and restaurants open, the Welsh government has said.

But First Minister Mark Drakeford said no decision would be made on introducing the pass to the hospitality sector until early December.

Mr Drakeford made the comments as he unveiled the latest 21-day review of Covid regulations.

He said there would be no rule changes in the next three weeks, following the latest review on Thursday.

Mr Drakeford said the government would be "keeping the option of extending the use of the Covid pass" to the hospitality sector, if case rates climbed and pandemic pressures on the NHS increased.

"We will continue to monitor the public health situation and we will work with the hospitality sector as we prepare for Christmas," he added.

Covid passes are used to demonstrate if someone has been fully vaccinated or has tested negative in the past 48 hours.

They are already required for cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and large events.

Ian Williams is the owner of the Oxwich Bay Hotel on Gower and said he was a little unnerved by the prospect.

"Yet again we are going into a very key part of the year for us and the decision is going to be left closer to the time, when it gets to its busiest.

"What we don't want is what happened last year where something comes out of the bag and we have five hours to react."

He said that in September he took a view it was better to plan for a worst case scenario, so left social distancing in place for all the table bookings and didn't go back to the numbers they would have catered for pre-pandemic.

"The worst case scenario for us is we would have to introduce a way of checking the Covid passes, whether that is something where people are able to go online like they did previously, I don't know, but I would have to manage it as we were informed.

"The last thing we want is where it got to last year, when it went on and on, and then doing a snap decision, a decision that was made and pulled the rug from under us.

"If it keeps us open, the business going and customers who pre-booked are able to come, then fantastic, that's what we all want," he added.

Thursday's announcement means Wales remains at alert level zero so all businesses can stay open.

Mr Drakeford said ministers would do "everything we can to keep Wales open and to keep Wales safe" and allow the hospitality sector to be "open and trading through the busy festive period".

Although Covid cases continue to rise in Wales, they are going up at a slower rate.

On 12 November, the case rate was 495.4 per 100,000 people, with the highest rate in Gwynedd - 654.3.

Hospital admissions now average 39 a day - up to 16 November - slightly up from previous days but still heading in the general downward trajectory seen since the end of October when it peaked at 45.

Mr Drakeford added that pandemic "hasn't gone away", with many countries in Europe introducing tougher restrictions.

The Welsh government will announce the findings of its next review on 10 December.