8. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus — December Restrictions

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 6:11 pm on 1 December 2020.

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Photo of Rhianon Passmore Rhianon Passmore Labour 6:11, 1 December 2020

First Minister, thank you for the statement and also the measured and stoic way that you and your Cabinet are leading Wales through this pandemic. They say it's always darkest before the dawn and we do face now a season of Advent without parallel in peacetime. And as has been said, from Friday 4 December, Welsh pubs, restaurants and cafes will close by 6 p.m., although you can still meet. And additionally, our cinemas, bowling alleys, bingo halls and museums and galleries will shut. But this heavy action is Wales's further and right and proper and necessary attempt to save preventable deaths—real lives from the COVID-19 pandemic and it's what necessitates these strict regulations. Without these changes, Llywydd, there is predicted to be between 1,000 and 1,700 preventable deaths over the winter. That's your parent, that's your sibling and that's your friend. And we have travelled too far in 2020 and we've sacrificed too much—some, the ultimate—to let go of our discipline in this final stretch. 

So, First Minister, now that we are on the cusp of a vaccination programme starting, are you able to offer any further words to the people of my constituency of Islwyn as to when and how a vaccine programme is likely to be rolled out and why the people of Islwyn should stay the course and all of us in this place equally hold our nerve?