Covid: Most of Wales' Coronavirus Rules to End Saturday

Most of Wales' remaining Covid rules will be lifted as the nation enters the "final lap" of the pandemic, the first minister has said.

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Social distancing laws and rules on who can meet indoors will end on Saturday, almost 17 months after the first lockdown.

However, rules will remain tighter than in England, with face masks still required by law in many public places.

Mark Drakeford warned the changes did not mean a "free-for-all".

Wales will move to the lowest level of restrictions seen so far from 06:00 BST on Saturday, moving to alert level zero.

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Mr Drakeford said as the case rate had steadily declined for the past three weeks and vaccinations had increased, most rules could now be scrapped.

He told a press briefing that the easing of restrictions was a "significant moment for all of us" and a "big step closer to life before the pandemic started".

However he urged people to be sensible, to continue to social distance, think about who they meet and where, and not behave as if the "virus has disappeared".

"Most people in Wales want to go on acting carefully to protect their health and the health of others," he said.

Mr Drakeford said with such major changes to rules, the impact on case rates needed to be seen, and so no further relaxation was expected to be made for "at least six weeks".

Remaining rules include legal requirements to wear face masks, as well as advice on avoiding international travel.

The first minister said while he did not expect Wales to have to be return to tight restrictions such as lockdown measures, he could not rule anything out if there was a "sudden change for the worse".

However, he said: "Provided we do not see further unexpected turns in the course of the virus, then I think we can have confidence that we are on the final lap of emerging from the pandemic."

Under the changes from Saturday:

There will be no limit on the numbers that can meet indoors, including in homes, public places and events
Any businesses still closed, such as nightclubs, can reopen
Laws requiring social distancing indoors, including in workplaces, will end
However businesses will have to put their own measures in place to keep staff and customers safe, which may include social distancing
While the changes will see most of Wales' rules lifted, more restrictions remain in place than across the border in England, where they were scrapped on so-called "freedom day" on 18 July.

Most restrictions in Scotland will come to an end on Monday - and with face masks still required in shops, the rules will be similar to here in Wales.

Meanwhile, in Northern Ireland rules on who you can meet and where remain in place.