10., 11. & 12. The Coronavirus Act 2020 (Alteration of Expiry Date) (Wales) Regulations 2022, The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 7) Regulations 2022 and The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 8) Regulations 2022

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:34 pm on 29 March 2022.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 5:34, 29 March 2022

Diolch yn fawr, Llywydd. Of course, we are very keen, Russell, to ensure that we have an end date, which is why what we're doing is only extending a few very small parts of the COVID Act, and the reason we've got that in place is because, actually, we don't know what comes next and we need to have some contingency just in case. So, ideally, we don't want to use these powers, because, actually, we'll be in a situation where everything is under control, but we don't know. Are we going to have a new variant that's going to knock everything out and be far more serious? We need to be ready to respond, which is why it is important to keep that opportunity to restart things on the books. Of course, we have to learn to live with COVID.

Face coverings: what's happening is we're moving them from law into guidance, which is really important to remember, because, actually, our guidance is still clear that you should be very careful and you should be thinking very carefully about the need to wear a face covering, in particular in an indoor public space, where there are lots of people around. It is a finely balanced judgment call. That's exactly what Rhun was saying: it's a judgment call. Do you want to come in?