Wales' lockdown is to be extended for another three weeks while school pupils return to classes safely, the First Minister will announce today.

Stay-at-home restrictions will remain in place in Wales for a further three weeks as the youngest children start returning to school from Monday, Mark Drakeford will say.

The First Minister will add that, thanks to Wales’ team effort, cases of coronavirus are at their lowest level since the end of September, while one in three adults in Wales has had a coronavirus vaccine.

But he will also say that he wants to continue the lockdown to allow for pupils to return to school safely. Last week it was announced that children aged three to seven would be going back after half term on Monday, and the continued lockdown is intended to allow that to happen safely. 

The seven day case rate of coronavirus across Wales now stands at 84 per 100,000 people.

The First Minister will talk about "encouraging green shoots of recovery" and look ahead to the next review when the Welsh Government will be considering if all primary pupils and some older students can return to schools and colleges from Monday 15 March, if the public health situation continues to improve.

The next review of the regulations in three weeks' time will, however, consider the restrictions around non-essential retail and close contact services.