Stay-at-home restrictions will remain in place in Wales for a further three weeks as the youngest children start returning to school from Monday, First Minister Mark Drakeford will announce today, February 19.

The First Minister will say that, thanks to Wales’ team effort, cases of coronavirus are at their lowest level since the end of September, while one in three adults in Wales has had a coronavirus vaccine.

The First Minister will talk about encouraging green shoots of recovery and look ahead to the next review when the Welsh Government will be considering if all primary pupils and some older students can return to schools and colleges from March 15, if the public health situation continues to improve.

The next review of the regulations will consider the restrictions around non-essential retail and close contact services.

The seven day case rate of coronavirus now stands at 84 per 100,000 people.