How is the vaccine deployment going in Wales?
As of March 31, Public Health Wales said a total of 1,427,183 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had now been administered in Wales.
The agency said 437,937 second doses were also administered.
Wales Premier Mark Drakeford said the NHS was making “rapid progress” in vaccinating priority groups five to nine.
Mr Drakeford told the Welsh government briefing: ‘Almost 40% of people in their 50s and 62% of people in group six – that is, people with an underlying health problem – received their first dose.
“Over 318,000 people have completed the two full doses and we have the highest second dose vaccination rate in the UK.”
Wales on February 12 became the first UK country to meet its goal of delivering coronavirus vaccines to everyone in its first four priority groups, with Mr Drakeford calling the step a “truly phenomenal effort” .
Read more: Should I book a holiday in Wales in 2021?
Can I book a summer holiday in Wales?
Mark Drakeford has said residents of Wales will be able to book self-contained accommodation from March 27 as the local stay rule will be lifted from that date.
However, Britons will not be able to vacation in Wales when the rules on self-catering are relaxed, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford has said.
“At Easter, the Welsh will be able to travel during the Easter holidays to Wales and find self-catering accommodation,” said Mr Drakeford.
“The rules in England won’t allow it. The Prime Minister’s roadmap says that in the weeks following March 29, people should minimize travel, there will be no vacations, and people will not be allowed to stay away from home overnight.
“If it is not safe to spend the night in England, it obviously would not be safe for people to travel to Wales.”
However, Mr Drakeford said if the coronavirus number remains stable, travel to and from Wales could be permitted during the next review on April 12.
Mr Drakeford also said he had “concerns” that overseas travel would resume as early as May 17.
He told UKTN Breakfast that September 2020 was a “difficult month” in Wales as people returned to the country after holidays abroad and brought Covid-19 with them.
“I don’t want all the hard work that the people of Wales have done in recent weeks to be undermined by the re-import of the virus,” he said.
It comes as people seeking to leave Britain since March 8 must present a new permit proving they are traveling for essential reasons in a bid to stop the Easter holidays.
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