Nightclubs in Wales given green light to reopen ..a week today!

First Minister Mark Drakeford has told today's briefing the rules will be eased 'if the public health situation continues on its current path' - with the number of people testing positive continuing to decline.

Business leaders are welcoming the announcement with Ben Francis, Policy Chair at FSB saying: "Businesses in Wales have shouldered a huge responsibility throughout the pandemic, they have consistently gone above and beyond to ensure staff and customers remain safe.

"While some sectors, such as hospitality, have borne the brunt of restrictions throughout the festive period, our data suggests Welsh businesses as a whole have been struggling.

"We know that Welsh business were indicating a decline in profits at the end of last year, which would create a concern about the growth outlook for Welsh businesses in 2022. Covid is just one of a number of issues challenging economic recovery over coming months.

"Businesses in Wales are looking to the Welsh Government for clarity, and we are pleased the Covid roadmap provides this, however our members will be disappointed at the lack of transparency surrounding the different rules of self-isolation across the UK.

"We continue to urge the First Minister to recognise the impact of the remaining restrictions, including self-isolation and call for a cut to the self-isolation period in Wales to 5 days, to release pressure on businesses and employees."

Working from home will not be a legal requirement from next Friday and Covid passes will still be required.

The First Minister said that self-isolation rules for everyone who tests positive for coronavirus will remain in place, as will mask-wearing in most public indoor places.

"The next review of the coronavirus regulations, including all the protective measures we have in place, will be in three weeks' time," he said.

"The arrival of the Omicron wave at Christmas was another unpleasant twist in this long-running pandemic.

"We have weathered this storm together in Wales by following the rules and all the measures, which have kept us safe over the course of the last two years.

"Unfortunately, this pandemic is not over yet. Coronavirus is still with us.

"But we can look to the future with renewed hope that brighter days are ahead.

"We are moving back to alert level zero but we will retain some important protections to give us all the confidence we need to live our lives."

Mark Drakeford said there was now a fall in the number of people being admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

"There are still more than 1,000 people in hospital with Covid-19, which is putting additional pressures on the NHS," the First Minister said.

"And while NHS staff absence and self-isolation rates have fallen, they are still high at 7.3%.

"While we may have passed the omicron peak, very sadly Public Health Wales is continuing to report significant numbers of deaths from coronavirus.

"In this week alone, more than 50 people have died because of Covid-19. This vividly demonstrates the human impact of the pandemic.

"There is a lot of talk at the moment about having to 'live with the virus'.

"But let us remember these 50 people and the more than 9,000 other families across Wales who are living with the loss of a loved one. For them, there is no easy way to move on from coronavirus."

Mark Drakeford said that Wales has passed the peak of Omicron infections.

"After many difficult and worrying weeks, I'm very pleased to say the situation has improved significantly," he said.

"We can say confidently today that we have passed this peak of the Omicron wave and the incredibly high levels of infections we have seen across Wales.

"It is all your hard work and the ongoing success of our fantastic vaccination programme has helped us through this very challenging period."

Mr Drakeford said cases peaked at just over 2,300 per 100,000 people in early January before falling back to around 500 cases per 100,000.

"These are similar to the levels we were experiencing just before the Omicron variant arrived in Wales," he said.

"But coronavirus is still circulating at high levels in our communities."