Scotland Times

Saturday, Feb 22, 2025

Lockdown support promised for people living alone

Lockdown support promised for people living alone

Local lockdown restrictions will be changed to support people living alone, the Welsh Government has said.


First Minister Mark Drakeford has been looking at whether to allow single people to meet another household indoors

People living in areas with tighter restrictions are currently banned from meeting other households indoors.

That has led to concerns for the welfare of people living alone.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has been considering whether to allow single people to form a social bubble. He will give further details at a press conference later on Friday.

No other major changes are expected in the latest review of Wales' coronavirus rules.

Local lockdown areas now cover 2.3 million people living in 16 different areas in north and south Wales - a majority of the country's population.

In those areas rules allowing people to form extended households of four different homes are suspended.

Last weekend Mr Drakeford told Wales on Sunday he had asked officials "to look at the Scottish household model".

In Scotland a single person living alone, or with just children aged 18 or under, can meet indoors with people from one other household.

Mr Drakeford said he was concerned about elderly people living alone who "at the moment are not able to mix with anybody else indoors".

"Part of this three-week review will be to see whether we can move to the Scottish model," he said.

"If these lockdowns are only going to last a matter of weeks maybe it isn't quite as bad, but if it's going to go on week after week we need to think about those single-person households."


What are local lockdowns?


In a local lockdown area people cannot travel in or out without a "reasonable excuse". Those include:

*  to work, if you cannot work from home


*  to provide care

*  travelling to education

*  elite athletic training and competitions

*  to provide or receive emergency assistance

*  to meet a legal obligation, and to access or receive public services

*  to avoid injury or illness or escape a risk of harm

You can travel through the areas, so roads such as the A55 and M4 can continue to be used.

Individuals can only meet outside their own household outside.

The rules apply in every Welsh county, except for Monmouthshire, Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion, Gwynedd, Isle of Anglesey and Powys. Llanelli is the only part of Carmarthenshire affected by the rules.

Lockdown restrictions were introduced to deal with a rise in coronavirus cases, with Caerphilly the first area to see their introduction in early September.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Scotland Times
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Island Orkney council to look at proposals to become territory of Norway
Woman Awarded Over £100,000 After Being Fired for Transgender Tweet
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
A Real woman
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
China's foreign ministry branch in Hong Kong urges British gov't to stop the biased and double standards Hong Kong report
Double standards: UK lawmakers attack EU chief over Ireland claims
Democracy? Not for UK. UK PM rejects Scottish independence referendum, cancel democracy in BVI
UK urged to brace for economic storm
Women's own body dissatisfaction appears to influence their judgment of other women's body sizes
Prince William To Move Family Into Cottage Near Queen Elizabeth II
BOOOOOOS: Tony Blair receives royal honour
Captured Britons sentenced to death in Ukraine
Barbados PM Mia A. Mottley among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People
Today's headlines
"Just One Of the Boys In School:" Years That Shaped Prince Charles
BVI Premier Rubbishes Claim Of Causing COI Delay
Comments on "Human Intelligence in a Digital Age" - A brilliant Speech by MI6 Chief Richard Moore, and the elephants neglected in the room
Bitcoin: BoE Deputy Gov wants to cancel democracy and protect the banks with regulations which infringe on people’s freedom, independence and benefits they get from their own money.
What are the Pandora Papers?
Taiwan-China relations at their 'worst in 40 years'
The attempt to hold Epik.com accountable for the content of its clients' websites is like blaming Gutenberg for the NYT's fake news that dragged the US into the pointless war against the nuclear weapons Iraq never had
×