Wales will tighten Covid restrictions to tackle a rising number of hospital admissions.
Adults who are fully vaccinated, and young people aged five to 17, will be asked to self-isolate until they have received a negative PCR test if someone in their household has symptoms or tests positive for Covid-19.
People who are not vaccinated will still have to self-isolate for 10 days following contact with someone who has tested positive, including close contacts outside of their household.
Head teachers will be given extra support to quickly put measures in place in their schools if case rates are high locally.
Staff and secondary school students will also be encouraged to take twice-weekly lateral flow tests to help keep coronavirus out of schools.
Covid passports
The Welsh government also intends to extend the use of the Covid Pass to theatres, cinemas and concert halls from November 15. However, the country will remain at alert level zero.
The First Minister, Mark Drakeford, said: “Over the past three weeks, coronavirus cases have risen sharply to the highest rates we have seen since the pandemic began and more people are falling so seriously ill that they need hospital treatment.
“All this means that the pandemic is far from over. We need to take more action now to strengthen the measures we have in place at alert level zero to prevent coronavirus spreading even further and more people falling seriously ill.
“We hope this action will help to turn the tide of this delta. None of us wants to see a return to restrictions but, if rates continue to rise, the Cabinet will have no choice but to consider raising the alert level at the next review.
“Let’s all work together as a team to reduce the spread of coronavirus and keep Wales open and keep Wales safe.”
The Welsh Government is also continuing to encourage everyone to work from home wherever possible and is still imposing a legal requirement to wear a face covering in indoor public places.
Share vaccines
Meanwhile former UK prime minister Gordon Brown has called on Western leaders preparing to gather at Cop26 in Glasgow to “make a decision” to provide the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people with Covid vaccines.
Brown was among a group including former UN general secretary Ban Ki-Moon and ex-New Zealand premier Helen Clark who this week called for world leaders to send unused vaccines from the global north to the global south and keep vaccination targets on track.
Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Brown said of those due to gather in Scotland: “They’re the people who control these vaccines. Make a decision, get the unused vaccines out.”
After noting that “partnerships work sometimes and they work quite well”, Brown called on Western leaders to implement the plan.
“Nobody’s really safe until everyone’s vaccinated everywhere,” the 70-year-old told GMB.
“The disease is spreading in the poorer countries, it’s going to mutate, we’re going to have new variants like Delta, they’re going to come back to haunt even the fully vaccinated here.
“It’s in all our interests to get the vaccines all around the world to everyone.”
“Now the good news is we have the vaccines, we just need to get them out to people,” he added.
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