Covid: Last-minute call on Wales Covid pass pub extension

A decision on whether to extend Covid passes to pubs and restaurants will be made at the "last minute", First Minister Mark Drakeford has said.

Ministers are to consider whether to expand the scheme over the next week, with the next Covid rules review due on Friday.

Mr Drakeford said the emergence of the Omicron variant has led to knowledge and circumstances developing "so fast".

The first case of Omicron was confirmed in Wales on Friday.

Covid passes are already required for cinemas, theatres, nightclubs and large events in Wales.

They show if someone has been fully vaccinated or tested negative for Covid in the past 48 hours.

The Welsh Conservatives have said they remained opposed to Covid passes because they do not seem to present "additional benefits" to stopping Covid.

But the first minister told Politics Wales he did not think the Welsh government would be considering extending passes to hospitality if it had only been dealing with the dominant Delta variant.

He said: "We've got another week to go. We will learn a lot in that week about the Omicron virus.

"If we were to do it, it would simply be to help those businesses to stay open and still attracting customers through the door because people would feel confident that everybody else in that setting were either vaccinated or had taken a lateral flow test.

"But we haven't made that decision, and we won't make that decision right up until the day we have to, because circumstances and knowledge are developing so fast around the new variant that you ought to wait to have the maximum amount of information that you can."

Sam Rowlands, Conservative Member of the Senedd (MS) for North Wales, said the government should ensure "every part of our energies" is put in to rolling out booster jabs rather than extending use of the pass.

"With that you could see much better walk-in centres - rapid roll-out of walk-in centres across the country," he said.

Plaid Cymru deputy leader Sian Gwenllian MS said: "We need to rely on the evidence and listen to what the experts say before bringing in any new regulations but if they are needed, they are needed."

Mr Drakeford said he could not claim the Covid pass scheme was making a difference "above the fact that it makes that extra marginal difference alongside everything else you do".

He also said there were no plans to bring the Christmas school holidays forward and it was not for the government to tell people if they should cancel Christmas parties.

Earlier this week, Health Minister Eluned Morgan urged people to be cautious when socialising indoors at Christmas.

Mr Drakeford said: "We all know by now the simple practical things we can do to keep ourselves safe, the mask-wearing, the thinking about other people, ventilation - if you're meeting people indoors, taking lateral flow tests if you are going to be in crowded places, and having one the day after as well."

Efforts over the next few months will be focused on offering double-vaccinated people a third jab in Wales, but Mr Drakeford said he would not set a target of the end of January for all eligible people, like in England.

He said: "We could invite everybody in Wales by the end of December but the invitation would be for February or March."

Meanwhile, calls are growing for a Wales-specific inquiry into the handling of the Covid pandemic but Mr Drakeford said, once again, a UK-wide inquiry would be better.

He said he had consulted about the "sort of person" who would need to be appointed as the inquiry's chairman and he expected to learn who that person is before it is made public.

He said: "If I were to learn of the name of the person appointed in a press release after it had been issued then obviously that would not be part of the way in which I think we can secure confidence for Wales that the inquiry will properly involve us here in Wales."

The mechanics of how a co-operation deal struck between the Welsh Labour government and Plaid Cymru will work has been criticised by the Conservatives and some Labour backbenchers.

Mr Drakeford said the questions raised were "for the Llywydd about the way in which different parties on the floor of the Senedd are treated."

"I am very clear this is not a coalition... Plaid Cymru is not in government in Wales, there are no ministers."

A commitment to provide free school meals to all primary school pupils was included in Plaid Cymru's Senedd election manifesto.

Welsh Labour's promise was to extend the free school meals "entitlement as far as resources allow".

Asked if it was therefore unfair for Welsh Labour to take the credit for the policy, Mr Drakeford said: "Well, we said in our manifesto that we would look to extend free school meals.

"It doesn't go as far as Plaid Cymru would have liked... but it is as far as we are able to go and, of course, Labour members and Labour supporters will want to celebrate the fact that as a result of the agreement more children in our schools will now get the benefit of a free meal."

You can watch the full interview on Politics Wales at 10am on Sunday 5 December on BBC One Wales or iPlayer