Wales to enter national lockdown from midnight, with rules relaxed on Christmas Day only

Wales will enter a national lockdown from midnight on Saturday, with festive bubbles cancelled for all but Christmas Day. Mark Drakeford, the first minister, announced the “stay at home” rules after hosting an emergency cabinet meeting amid concerns over a new strain of coronavirus, which he said is present “throughout Wales”. He detailed how the pattern of transmission in London and the southeast of England, which has been linked to the new variant, is “remarkably consistent with the rapid acceleration of transmission in Wales” and the high case rates seen in recent weeks.