Nightclubs in Wales to close after Boxing Day
£60 million has been allocated to help businesses impacted by closure
The Welsh government will impose new restrictions on nightclubs from December 27 in order to tackle the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
It came after Wales' weekly review of policies, with First Minister Mark Drakeford holding a press conference at 12:15PM today (Friday December 17) to declare the changes.
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He'll also outline five steps that he thinks should be taken for a "safer" festive period, including taking lateral flow tests before going out and meeting outdoors if possible.
As reported in The Guardian, Drakeford said the new legally enforced measures were essential to combat what he called the pandemic's most serious development to date.
Drakeford is urging people to spend the holiday season with only their closest friends and family, claiming that a "smaller Christmas" will be safer.
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Nightclubs are set to be fully closed from December 27.
The Welsh Government has allocated £60 million to help firms affected by the closures.
According to iNews, Drakeford implied on BBC Breakfast on Friday morning that more limitations, such as the "rule of six," may be imposed on the hospitality industry.
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He said: “We’re seeing this week across the United Kingdom, people are voting with their feet because of anxiety about Omicron.
“We’ll be talking with the sector about whether we need to reopen with additional protections so that people feel confident that, if they do go out to a pub or restaurant, everything is being done to keep them safe.
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“We would go back to the repertoire of things we needed to use earlier in the pandemic – some restrictions on the number of people who can meet wearing masks when you’re moving around inside pubs and restaurants, those sort of things that people are used to and have successfully used in the past.”
Aneesa Ahmed is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter
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