The Welsh government will scrap all COVID curbs in two weeks under plans to reopen clubs, end the rule of six in pubs and lift the 50 people limited on outdoor events.
Mark Drakeford will lay out a strategy for Wales to move from alert level two to alert level zero by the end of January if the public health situation continues to improve.
Restrictions on outdoor activities will be eased first before extending to other rules introduced on Boxing Day in a phased approach.
Under the existing measures, a limit of six people can meet in pubs, restaurants and cinemas, with outdoor events limited to 50 people, and 30 indoors.
Restrictions also include mask-wearing in all public venues and the two-metre rule while nightclubs have been forced to close.
The First Minister will hold a press conference at 12.15 pm to announce the two-week roadmap following a review of the rules, and he said that the move comes amid a quick drop in the number of cases, adding that we seem to have passed the peak of Omicron.
Wales’ coronavirus case rate recently dropped to 1,492.4 per 100,000 people over seven days, its lowest level since December 27.
The total number of people admitted to critical care with the virus was also 20 per cent of that record over the same period in January last year.
It follows Andrew RT Davies, leader of the Welsh Conservatives, blaming the Welsh government for overreacting to the coronavirus variant.
Responding to Mr Drakeford’s latest roadmap, the Welsh Conservatives said they’re delighted he’s finally listened to calls to lift restrictions.
Mr Drakeford told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that because of what the data and the science were saying to them, and because the modelling they have in Wales predicted, they seem to have passed the peak of Omicron and are coming down rapidly on the other side.
He said that give them confidence that over the next two weeks they can slowly and carefully raise the level of protection they needed over the Christmas period because from a public health standpoint it will then be safe to do so.
Wales was previously criticised for imposing much more stringent rules than England over the festive period.
UKHospitality Cymru had warned hospitality businesses in Wales were already batter and bruised and at the end of their tether by a collapse in customer numbers and said the rules would only make matters worse.
These restrictions have already ruined England and Wales, and now governments just want the British taxpayer to pick up the bill and both governments have become inebriated on power.
Boris Johnson built these COVID hospitals and named them after Florence Nightingale, she would be rolling in her grave now, but Boris Johnson would never admit that he was wrong because he would never let people see that he’s guilty even if we know he is, and he will still go on misleading the public and frightening people, but doesn’t he realise that he’s got no credibility now?
It doesn’t matter whether governments overreacted or not, it’s about control and scoring political points, but I believe this time it’s seriously boomeranged on them.
Grandpa Munster and Wee Krankie weren’t interested in the restrictions by way of being way over the top because they were quite happy to plunge their respective countries into unnecessary draconian measures, but hopefully, it will come back to haunt them and hopefully, our voters will remember this come polling day.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 