The next item is a statement by the First Minister on the coronavirus control plan. First Minister.

Thank you very much, Llywydd. In this statement, I want to deal with four significant issues arising from the coronavirus crisis, and they are interlocking. In the first place, I will set out the Government’s assessment of the situation in Wales in terms of public health. I will then outline the changes to public health regulations in Wales that the Government intends to introduce from Saturday next, 17 July. The third strand of the statement deals with changes that lie beyond next Saturday. I will detail the components of an alert level 0 that will be introduced, if the public health position were to allow such changes, on Saturday 7 August. Finally, I want to confirm the Government’s plans to amend the requirements in terms of self-isolation in Wales for international travellers and in domestic contexts.

Llywydd, I make this latest statement on the public health emergency here in Wales at a point of enormous uncertainty and complexity. Coronavirus cases are rising across the whole of Wales. In a short number of weeks, three small clusters of cases of the new delta variant have multiplied rapidly. Yesterday alone, over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported across Wales. This fast-moving variant is in every part of our country and spreading quickly. It is the dominant form of the virus in Wales, just as it has become the dominant form in the United Kingdom and in many other countries in Europe. There can be no doubt that we are experiencing the anticipated third wave of this pandemic, with the rate in Wales rising overnight to 145 cases per 100,000 people.

In a moment, I will set out some reasons for greater optimism in dealing with this third wave than either of its predecessors, but I want to leave Members in no doubt at all that community prevalence on this scale brings with it a set of real dangers that no responsible Government or Senedd should ignore. Our technical advisory group now says that the prevalence of infection in Wales will remain extremely high for at least the rest of this summer. That level of circulation of the virus will increase the risk of new variants emerging; increase the risk of the virus re-entering hospitals, care homes and other closed settings; it will increase the risk that the virus will move from younger to older people, repeating the pattern of both waves 1 and 2; it will increase the number of people suffering from long COVID; it will increase workforce absences, including in our key public services, and it will place greater strain on our test, trace, protect service and the genomic sequencing service, making the identification of new variants more difficult.

What, then, Llywydd, are the countervailing factors? Well, first and foremost, vaccination, and particularly our high rates of vaccination in Wales, is changing our relationship with the virus, and doing so faster than any other UK nation. Today, more than 73 per cent of all adults in Wales have received two doses of the vaccine. The figure in England and Scotland is 66 per cent, and it is 65 per cent in Northern Ireland. The rising tide of cases has not translated into higher rates of serious illnesses, hospital admissions and deaths in the same way that it did during the first wave or in the winter, and that is because of vaccination. I want to put on record again my thanks to all those people who have worked so hard to plan and run this highly successful programme.

The second way in which the position is more promising in this third wave is the way we have lived, and that has left some positive legacy. The Office for National Statistics's weekly estimate states that, of all the four home nations, Wales has the highest level of acquired immunity, and that now stands at 92 per cent of the whole population. Thirdly, we have the defence of the TTP system. In the week ending 3 July, 95 per cent of index cases eligible for follow-up were contacted within 24 hours, and 93 per cent of their contacts were traced.

Llywydd, that is the context in which the Cabinet has completed our three-weekly review of coronavirus restrictions. Our assessment is that, taking all these factors—negative and positive together—we can now proceed to a full level 1 set of regulations. This means that, from 17 July, from Saturday, up to six people will be able to meet indoors in private homes and holiday accommodation; organised indoor events for up to 1,000 people seated or 200 people standing will be able to take place, following a risk assessment; and that ice rinks will be able to re-open. And we believe we can go a step further as we move to the new alert level 0, and that we will be able to introduce alert level 0 levels of restrictions for outdoor events and gatherings, also from 17 July. We will therefore remove the limits on the number of people who can gather outdoors. Outdoor premises and events will have more flexibility around physical distancing. This will continue, though, to be one of the mitigations to be considered in carrying out and implementing risk assessments. We are able to do this because of our long-standing conclusion that the risk of transmission outdoors is much lower than indoors, and because we need to take advantage of the summer period. At the same time, from 17 July, the regulations will also change to allow up to 30 people from organisations such as the Urdd, Brownies or Scouts to attend residential centres over the summer holidays.

Llywydd, today we are also publishing an updated version of our coronavirus control plan, which sets out more broadly how we can move beyond the current alert level 1 to a new alert level 0. The Cabinet's intention is that Wales should move to alert level 0 on 7 August, provided the public health position in three weeks' time still allows us to do so. I emphasise today, as I always do, the importance of that proviso. In a position where public health challenges remain so volatile, we will assess and reassess the position on 7 August, but with the intention that Wales should move to alert level 0, provided the public health position remains as it is today.

At alert level 0, we have focused on retaining those restrictions that help people to keep safe, but have the smallest detrimental effect on their wider physical and emotional health. At level 0, therefore, there will be no legal limits on the number of people who can meet others, including in private homes, public places or at events, and at alert level 0, all businesses and premises will be open.

Llywydd, life will have returned, very substantially, to how it was before the coronavirus pandemic began, but here in Wales, we will not abandon all those measures that have done so much to keep us all safe. At alert level 0, and from 7 August, therefore, people should continue to work from home wherever possible. Where a return to the workplace is necessary, we will continue to ensure that COVID risk assessments will be a legal requirement for businesses, employers and event organisers. It will be a legal requirement that these assessments are drawn up with the involvement of employees, and the mitigating measures set out in those risk assessments must be implemented. In Wales, as well, Llywydd, at alert level 0, face coverings will continue to be a legal requirement on public transport, in health and care settings and in all indoor public places, with the exception of education settings and hospitality. The aim of the Government will be gradually to ease these requirements as the risk of coronavirus decreases.

Finally, Llywydd, I turn to two further changes to self-isolation requirements. I much regret the decision of the UK Government to remove the requirement for doubly vaccinated travellers returning from amber list countries to self-isolate. The risk of reimportation of coronavirus from other parts of the world, and especially new variants, has not gone away. The removal of a defence against that risk, and especially at a time when the virus is in such rapid circulation, is very difficult to understand. But, because the vast majority of international travel to and from Wales is via England, it is, as our chief medical officer says, untenable for us not to do the same thing. We will therefore remove the requirement for all adults who have had two NHS COVID vaccines, and for under 18 year-olds, to self-isolate on their return from amber list countries, and we will remove those requirements from 19 July. However, Llywydd, we continue to advise against all but essential travel abroad, and we continue to strongly recommend people to holiday at home this summer.

I turn now to the position in relation to domestic self-isolation. Here, the Cabinet has decided that, during the next three-week cycle, which begins on 7 August, we will remove the requirement for people who have been fully vaccinated to self-isolate if they are a close contact of someone who has tested positive. There is still work to be done before these changes can come into force, for example in adjusting our TTP system and putting in place arrangements for those who work in health and care settings. Self-isolation will continue to play a very important role in breaking the chain of transmission for anyone who has symptoms of the virus, anyone who tests positive and anyone who has not had two doses of the vaccine.

Llywydd, coronavirus has not gone away. Whatever the coming weeks and months hold, the simple measures that have helped to keep us all safe throughout the pandemic will continue to protect us all: keeping your distance, meeting outdoors, being in well-ventilated places, avoiding crowded places where possible, wearing a face covering where it's not, and good hand hygiene.

If we follow these simple steps, we can work together to keep coronavirus under control and prevent this third wave from growing too high. All of the evidence suggests that new variants, which may not respond to the vaccines, are more likely to emerge when cases of coronavirus are at high levels. It remains vital that we continue to work together to keep each other safe and to keep Wales safe as well. Thank you very much. 

Thank you, First Minister, for your statement this afternoon, and, indeed, for the briefing that the health Minister offered leaders of the opposition parties this morning, as well, which, obviously, has informed our thinking in relation to this statement. You are the First Minister, and I am the leader of the largest opposition group, the people of Wales spoke, and, to be fair, they endorsed the approach that the Welsh Government have taken. I have disagreed with that approach on many occasions, but democracy is a wonderful thing; the largest party forms the Government and sets the tone and sets the direction.

You are quite right to identify that we are still in the middle of many challenging periods of time that we're going to face with the COVID crisis at the moment, in particular around new variants. I personally would have liked to have seen greater speed and greater urgency in bringing some of these measures forward, but I appreciate the difficult decisions that the Cabinet have had to take based on the scientific evidence that they've had before them. That's what will inform the questions that I will put to you today, if I may, First Minister.

You highlight in your statement three restrictions that will remain in place after 7 August. I will deal with it as if it's a plan so we get to level 0, because I appreciate there are still considerations to be taken. Will there be any other restrictions that will be in place when we get to level 0, or are those the only three restrictions that we can expect to remain in place if the conditions are met on that assessment by the Cabinet for their release on 7 August?

When it comes to face masks, what tests will you be using to move away from the mandatory direction that will be put in place to keep face masks in place for use in many settings here in Wales? Because I'm sure we'd all like to move, if it was safe to do so, to an environment that was pre COVID and face masks were not the normality that we currently see. So, what tests will you put in place to make sure that we can have confidence that we will move into that area where face masks won't be mandatory?

When it comes to self-isolation, we can see the effects that are currently happening with self-isolation, in particular the effects it's having on business and services as we remove restrictions. You talk in the statement about TTP provision and the improvements needed and changes needed in TTP provision. Can you highlight what changes are required so we can move to an environment where self-isolation doesn't have so much of an effect on the economy and on our services?

Risk assessments will be a legal requirement. Will these be sector by sector, or will there be a uniform approach? I think that's important to understand, because I'm sure, as Members, we will get quite a bit of correspondence from people within our regions and constituencies on how these risk assessments are going to be undertaken. So, will they be sector by sector, or will it be a uniform approach, with a standard template that businesses and operators will have to comply with?

We are seeing rising infection rates; what's the modelling and what does that show as the effect on the NHS, going forward, as we go into the summer? I'm sure the First Minister does have access to that modelling, and I think it's important for us to understand with these restrictions being lifted what effect we are expecting to see on the NHS, because ultimately these restrictions were put in place to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed. 

Finally, First Minister, if we do see spikes—and I think invariably we will see spikes, regrettably—will you deal with the spikes via local restrictions or national restrictions, and will those national restrictions ultimately involve the draconian measures we have seen of previous lockdown procedures in Wales—the first and second lockdown—or are we in a zone where, with the success of the vaccination programme and the immunisation that has gone on across Wales and the immunity levels that we see, we will not be looking backwards and thinking we'll be seeing lockdown one and lockdown two repeated in the autumn? Thank you, First Minister. 

I thank the leader of the opposition for those very constructive questions. I'll do my best to answer them all briefly. Provided that the public health situation remains as it is, then the restrictions that I've outlined this afternoon, as set out in the coronavirus control plan, are the restrictions that we envisage. I don't envisage more than that, but that does depend on the public health situation remaining as favourable as it is today. 

On face coverings, we will use the same set of tests that we have set out in previous iterations of the coronavirus control plan, and that means that we don't rely on a single measure, we rely on a rounded set of measures that include prevalence in the community, positivity rates, the extent to which illness is converting into impact on hospitalisation and so on. So, it'll be a rounded set of measures, which all together tell us whether the virus is sufficiently suppressed to allow us to move beyond mandation of face coverings. I said in my statement that, while face coverings will remain mandatory in indoor settings, we are removing their mandation in hospitality, we're removing their mandation in education settings, and we would like to remove their mandation in further indoor settings, as the coronavirus position allows. 

In relation to self-isolation, I don't think, Llywydd, that I said that the TTP system needed to improve. I did say that it needed to amend itself. It is going to move from a system in which the call you get from a TTP worker is one that tells you that you have been in contact with someone who has tested positive and therefore you now are required to self-isolate to what is called a 'warn and inform' system. So, the script for all our workers in TTP will have to alter. They will still provide the best possible advice to people who have come into contact with someone who has tested positive. They will explore with the individual their own circumstances, because people who have been doubly vaccinated but who have significant underlying health conditions may wish to continue to take some measures to protect themselves if they have come into contact with someone who definitely is suffering from the virus.

The move to a 'warn and inform' system will take a small number of weeks. Scripts have to be changed, people have to be retrained to do it, and we want to be in a position where the TTP service has access to the record of somebody's vaccination. It cannot simply be a self-certification system. It cannot be that the TTP system asks you, 'Have you been doubly vaccinated?' and all that happens is that you say 'yes', and then it says, 'And was it more than two weeks ago?' and you say 'yes' again and that's the only check in the system. For this to have the public confidence that we want it to have, there has to be more to it than that, and that has to be planned into the system as well. That will just take a short number of weeks. 

Risk assessments are mandatory now, Llywydd. They are mandatory under our coronavirus regulations, and they're mandatory under Health and Safety Executive regulations as well, and we'll continue to do them in the way we have up until now, which is not a simple, uniform, same-everywhere assessment. Inevitably, the factors that affect the safety of workers and users of any workplace vary according to the nature of the workplace itself. 

The leader of the opposition asked me what the model shows. And what the model shows, Llywydd, is that the impact on the health service is incredibly sensitive to shifts in at least two of the factors at play—incredibly sensitive to the extent to which the vaccination does provide a defence against the virus. And a shift of just 2 per cent or 3 per cent in the effectiveness of the virus is the difference between large numbers of people needing or not needing hospitalisation.

And the second variable is the extent to which people do continue to observe all those small but sensible actions that we ask people to take in their own lives. If people continue, as people in Wales have, to do their best to look after themselves and others, that will suppress the number of people needing hospitalisation. If people act as though coronavirus has gone away, and is no risk to themselves or others, then that will drive more numbers into the hospital sector. At the better end of that spectrum, then the impact on the NHS is manageable, despite the fact that the NHS is so busy with everything else it's trying to do. If the dial gets set at the other end of that spectrum, then we will be back where we were in the winter, with very large numbers of people needing to be cared for in a hospital, with all the impact that that would make on the ability of the NHS to go on doing all of those other things.

The issue of spikes—we've relied on national measures ever since the turn of this year, and I think that has served us well in terms of simplicity of communication, and the ability of people to follow what is asked of them. And at the moment, I think that will be the primary way we will deal with things. We have had local measures. We've had local measures in Rhondda Cynon Taf and in Merthyr; we've had local measures in parts of north Wales. But they're supplementary to that national approach, rather than a substitute for it.

And the final question that Andrew R.T. Davies asked me was whether the vaccination will alter the measures that we would need to take. Well, provided the vaccine remains as effective as it is, against the Kent variant and the delta variant, then the answer would definitely be, 'Yes, we will have a far stronger defence.' Were we to be in the very unhappy position of a further variant emerging, where the vaccine was not an effective defence against it, well, inevitably, we would have to calibrate other measures, to take account of the fact that the vaccine isn't providing the defence that it currently does. But our hope must be that the vaccine goes on being effective, and the booster campaign that we have planned for the autumn will certainly help in that way.

Thank you, First Minister. I was going to start by thanking you for making this statement in the Senedd—all of the statements of the previous year should have been made in the Senedd—but I read now that some of this was released on social media. But we are closer to have had the statement made in the Senedd, where it should have been made.

Thank you for sharing your assessment of the current public health situation, and for outlining the steps that will be taken immediately in terms of relaxing restrictions, and what will emerge next. The context of course—and we can't ignore the context here in Wales—are the incredible steps being taken by Boris Johnson for England, and the pressures on Wales, and the pressures on you, to set a similar timetable. And I'm pleased, once again, that we in Wales are refusing to follow that agenda over the border. I read the comments of Ravi Gupta, of Cambridge University, who said that the world is looking at England with disbelief, while numbers are increasing and restrictions are being relaxed in England from next week.

I am pleased, however, that we are moving towards lifting some restrictions—it's the right thing to do; that's what we all want to see, after all. It's a good thing to move towards normality. But I agree with the choice that the Government has made in terms of being cautious and waiting a few weeks with some fundamental issues, as the number of cases increases. And I'm particularly pleased that the Government has agreed with us in Plaid Cymru, and the trade unions, that it should be mandatory for people to continue wearing face coverings. It's important that we limit the number of people who can be infected because of the reasons that you outlined in terms of the development of long COVID and the possibilities of new variants emerging. 

I'm pleased, if I may comment on what we heard from the leader of the Conservative Party—. I'm pleased that you weren't pushing for an immediate lifting of mandation on masks, as some members of the Conservative Party have been calling for that and asking for it to be made a matter of public choice, which would be fine if masks only protected ourselves. But their primary purpose, of course, is to protect those around us. So, to say that we should be led by our own individual choices is rather a selfish way in a collective pandemic to look at the best way to approach things. 

Just a couple of fundamental questions. If you make the wrong call on 7 August, people might well be looking at us in disbelief. So, could you tell us how you will make that call that, in your words, the public health position in three weeks' time in Wales does allow us to move on to that next stage? How do you measure the impact of what's been announced today for 17 July, and what plans do you have in place now to measure, if things don't go as planned after 7 August? There will be an exit wave of sorts. You will need to measure whether it is in the parameters that you're comfortable with. Tell us a little bit, if you could, about how you're planning to make that assessment in a few weeks' time.

And just a couple of more detailed questions. You haven't referred to green list countries. If you could just outline your approach towards green list countries. Many, many people are looking for an opportunity to have a holiday and they will want to do so in the most responsible way. So, if you could comment on green list countries. 

Also, I'd appreciate your thoughts on the giving of the contract for PCR tests on people returning. I know you don't want people to leave at all, but when they do return, the contract is being held by a private company, Corporate Travel Management. Is that the best approach—£170 a pop for PCR tests? Surely, it should be looked at, how to bring that cost down.

And, also, if I could have a little bit of detail on nightclubs, which is something that there's been a lot of talk about. I'm not particularly in the stage of my life where it's a personal interest for myself, but I know it is to many others. There was no reference to that, and nightclubs have been held as the area where perhaps we would be able to move last towards lifting restrictions. So, I'll leave it there. Diolch.

Thank you, Rhun ap Iorwerth, and I appreciate what he said, and the support for what I've said this afternoon. And I do recognise the fact that Plaid Cymru has been supportive of how we have proceeded and dealt with things here in Wales. And I thank him again this afternoon for that. 

To turn to the specific questions, well I agree entirely with what Rhun ap Iorwerth said, Llywydd, that a simplistic reliance on personal responsibility simply doesn't measure up to the way in which this crisis has been addressed here in Wales, and needs to be addressed in future. Of course, we do all have personal responsibility; that is certainly the case. But it's more than that, isn't it? Our responsibility is not just to ourselves; it is to other people. And much of the discussion in the Cabinet today, when we came to talking about measures that would still need to be in place at alert level 0, we were thinking about those people whose lives would be made more difficult and more anxious if they feel that places they might need to visit will not be as safe for them in the future as they have been hitherto. And that's why we think that we should go on wearing masks. As Rhun ap Iorwerth said, they do offer you protection as well, but just as importantly, they offer every one of us protection from those small acts that each individual can take that add up to something far more significant. 

As to how we will assess the impact of what we have done today, we'll continue to do it, Llywydd, in the way we have throughout. It's why we have a three-week gap between the measures that we will move to on Saturday of this week, and where we might go on 7 August, because that will give us an opportunity to assess the impact of moving to level 1 and the further opening of outdoor activity. And we will assess it against the number of people who fall ill, the extent to which that has an impact on the health service, the impact that that has on our economy, and we will have further modelling at each point, which tells us whether or not the level of circulation of virus in the community is peaking and diminishing, or is it simply pushing the peak further into the future. All of those things will be taken into account, and we will assess them at every step of the way. And it is perfectly possible, as the Plaid Cymru spokesperson has said, Llywydd, that you can get this wrong. Holland reopened on an England basis three weeks ago, and has just had to re-impose all those restrictions. The Prime Minister of Holland said, 'An error of judgment was made and today we are sorry for it.' So, it is possible to get this wrong. Israel, where there are even higher levels of vaccination, removed the need for people to wear masks, and have had to re-impose it two weeks after they took that set of actions. So, I'm not saying at all that even the careful steps we are taking today could not have unintended consequences, and it's why we will keep it so carefully under review. 

As to green list countries, the regime is unchanged. It's the regime we've had ever since green list countries came into being. And, as to nightclubs, then, the reopening of both nightclubs, and what I've learned to refer to as adult entertainment venues, are both now scheduled for 7 August, in line with the other level 0 lifting of restrictions. 

First Minister, can I welcome today's announcement, but seek some clarification, following your statement and a post on your social media, regarding the no limits on the number of people and no social distancing when outdoors? Does this mean events, such as the popular Ironman Wales event held in Tenby, and agricultural shows, such as Martletwy show, can be given the green light to go ahead? And, also, will the new regulations be amended to allow both parents to attend a hospital setting with their child, as the current arrangement of only allowing one parent to attend leads to increased anxiety for both the child and parent involved in what is an already stressful and upsetting situation? Diolch. 

Thank you for the questions. 

As far as outdoor events are concerned, limits on the numbers of people attending have now been lifted, and social distancing becomes one of the measures that an organiser of an event would have to take into account in carrying out a risk assessment and putting in place mitigating measures against the risks of coronavirus. It, therefore, does not mean that it is a free-for-all in which any event can now just go ahead as though coronavirus were not there, Llywydd. It does mean that the Martletwy show, which I've visited and enjoyed myself, in the past, would need to be subject to a risk assessment by its organisers. What they don't have to take into account is a fixed limit set by the Government. They themselves will have to work out what is safe in the context that they find themselves in. That will differ, as you know, in terms of the size of a venue, the access to the venue, the nature of the event itself and so on. 

On hospital settings, we published revised guidance on visiting only a couple of weeks ago. Its aim is to encourage hospitals to think carefully about extending the range of people who can visit, but it does, in the end, remain a clinical decision. And, when coronavirus figures are rising in the community, as fast as they are, then, we know that closed settings, like a hospital, will be particularly vulnerable. So, while I know that these are incredibly difficult judgments, and have a really big impact on families concerned, I still think it is right that we leave those decisions in the hands of the people who have to be responsible for the wider safety of patients in that setting, and to rely on their good sense and judgment. 

Right now, in Wales, it may feel, with this announcement, that the end of the pandemic is in sight. In fact, I've had a number of messages particularly happy that ice rinks are re-opening. But, in most places in the world, the pandemic is becoming even more deadly. Whilst we've all been enjoying the Euros over the past few weeks and seeing fans back inside stadiums, in Uganda, their national football stadium is being used as a field hospital to treat COVID patients. For my own community of Pontypridd, I know this is particularly concerning, due to the close links established with Uganda through PONT.

I know we discussed and raised this yesterday, but the cases in the country have increased significantly, by 1,000 per cent last month, and we know that, with only 4,000 people out of a population of 45 million having received two doses, this is significant. This deadly lack of vaccines is a story that is being repeated across the world. We know that vaccines are our best hope of getting the pandemic under control, preventing more deaths, but companies and factories that could be making vaccine doses are standing on the sidelines because a monopoly of big pharmaceutical corporations are refusing to share intellectual property rights with other companies. These powerful pharmaceutical companies are putting patent and profits before saving lives by artificially rationing the supply of vaccines and refusing to share their recipes and technology with the rest of the world.

These monopolies are being protected by a handful of rich countries, including the UK. This Senedd must now come together to ensure—. Because there's a cost to Wales if this is not ramped up in terms of global vaccine production. And I would like to ask the First Minister and my fellow Senedd Members to support my statement of opinion on the people's vaccine and that we work cross-party to make sure—. Because we can't control this virus only within Wales. This is a global pandemic and we need to be working globally.

Well, Llywydd, I thank Heledd Fychan for what she said,

and, of course, I agree entirely about the global nature of the challenge. I think it was the leader of the opposition who said here yesterday that nobody is safe from the virus until everybody is safe from the virus, and that does mean right around the world. I'm familiar with the PONT scheme, which people in Pontypridd have done so much to support, and I was put in touch with it by Mick Antoniw, the local Senedd Member, and fantastic work it does too. 

On ice rinks, one of the things that I've learnt, I think, during the whole pandemic is that some things are very important to people, even when you don't quite realise it yourself. So, even small things, like the re-opening of an ice rink, will matter a lot to at least some people.

I'm less familiar, Llywydd, with some of the arguments that the Member made about the actions of powerful pharmaceutical companies. Members will have heard what was said and there's a statement of opinion that people can look at if they would like to associate themselves with it.

First Minister, I welcome your announcement today, and I particularly welcome the move into alert level 1, moving to alert level 0 for outdoors. So, it gives things like the Green Man Festival in my constituency the confidence now to go ahead and that gives people a real boost in their mental health as well—they can actually physically go somewhere and have a good time. And I also welcome your announcements around self-isolation, and it just proves what amazing work the vaccination programme has done to keep people safe right across Wales.

But, as you were talking, First Minister, one of your staunch critics in my constituency texted me—he is a landlord—and he wanted me to ask you a couple of questions. He did say that you're finally on the right track, but he wanted me to ask you these couple of questions: when will you look to review the 2m social-distancing rule for indoor hospitality so that our pubs and restaurants can get back to normal? And his final question was: do your announcements mean that the rule of six will be removed for those premises with a beer garden? Diolch, Llywydd.

Llywydd, I'll do my best; I'm not an agony aunt for hospitality venues across Wales. But the 2m rule in hospitality—I can at least help your constituent there, because we haven't had a 2m rule in hospitality for a very long time. What we have had is a rule that says that, where hospitality venues are not able to sustain a 2m rule—and therefore the regulations recognise that that isn't always possible—other mitigating measures must be put in place. So, there is no absolute rule of 2m in hospitality, and many, many venues have worked incredibly hard, Llywydd, to make sure that, when that isn't possible, there are those other mitigating measures: screens in some places, regular cleaning regimes, limited times that people can remain and so on. An imaginative and creative repertoire has been developed in the hospitality industry, and I commend them for it and I hope that the Member's constituent will be able to catch up with that.

Prif Weinidog, the ability of pregnant women to have their partners present during pregnancy assessments, scans and around the birth is something that has been raised throughout the pandemic. It's been a particularly difficult time for many women who ordinarily would have had the support of their partner or nominated person to support them during what can be a very challenging and emotional time. I understand that Welsh Government guidance around this has changed throughout the pandemic, of course, and that partners should now be allowed to attend 12- and 20-week scans. However, only last week I was contacted by a pregnant woman who'd been told that her partner cannot attend a 20-week rescan. I appreciate that, and as you have just explained, health boards must be careful of course to ensure they minimise the risk of COVID within hospital settings, but when pregnant women on the one hand see tens of thousands of sports fans congregating and hugging on their tvs, you can understand that they feel disappointed to find their partners are unable to attend key scans and support them in a COVID-secure environment. They feel left behind. Therefore, will the Welsh Government please give a commitment that this is an area that it will address as we are now easing out of the COVID restrictions? Diolch.

Well, Llywydd, let me say to the Member that I think this has been one of the most difficult issues that we've had to face throughout the whole of the pandemic and I absolutely understand the distress that some families have felt where people have had to go through an experience on their own where they would in any other time have had the support of a partner alongside them. I can't do more than to give an undertaking that we will continue to keep that guidance under review. As Sioned Williams has recognised, it was revised only a couple of weeks ago, but, in the end, a clinician has to weigh up the risks involved, and the risks are different individual to individual, the underlying state of health of the potential mother, and they vary from setting to setting. And no clinician, I believe, looks to exclude somebody from an experience that they know will be very important to them. They do it when they have weighed up the risks and decided that the risks involved to the health of the individual are such that that cannot go ahead, and, when you know what the consequences of those risks could be, I just think we have to have some confidence in our clinicians at the front line who deal with this every single day and do their best to come to the right conclusion in what are always highly charged emotionally and very challenging clinically sets of circumstances.

Finally, Jane Dodds. Oh, not finally Jane Dodds. That was finally, then.

Thank you, First Minister.

Thank you very much.

We will now suspend proceedings to allow changeovers in the Chamber.

Plenary was suspended at 15:53.

The Senedd reconvened at 16:05, with the Deputy Presiding Officer (David Rees) in the Chair.