PUBS, restaurants, bars and cafes in Wales could reopen indoors on August 3, the First Minister has said.
Mark Drakeford said indoor service would be allowed as long as the state of coronavirus in the country permitted, and the lifting of restrictions on outdoor hospitality was a success.
Today, Friday July 10, saw confirmation that outdoor team sports and activities including football and fitness classes will be allowed to resume from Monday, along with hair appointments and outdoor service for food and drink.
Mr Drakeford set out a four-week package of relaxed measures which would see the reopening of playgrounds, outdoor gyms, beauty salons, campsites and accommodation with shared facilities, cinemas and museums.
The plan would culminate with pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes being allowed to welcome customers indoors for the first time since lockdown, as long as conditions allowed, as early as August.
Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford addressed the nation on Friday, July 10, with the next roadmap to ease Wales out of lockdown
Mr Drakeford told the Welsh Government's daily press briefing: "I want to send a clear signal that, provided the reopening of outdoor hospitality goes well, and the state of the virus allows indoor opening for pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants will resume from August 3."
Mr Drakeford said it would be for the hospitality industry to demonstrate they can open safely indoors in order to give "confidence" to returning customers.
The news will come as a relief to many businesses, some of whom have said they would not open until they were allowed to have customers indoors.
Mr Drakeford said the two-metre social distancing regulations would also be changed, allowing businesses to implement safety measures including erecting protective shields in places where keeping a distance is not practical.
The minister said the number of new coronavirus cases were falling by about 2per cent every day, but pointed to events in Melbourne, Australia, which - despite recording only two new cases of the virus on June 9, was now in lockdown again for the next six weeks.
He added: "That's how quickly things can go wrong."
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