First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced new restrictions for hospitality in Wales.
Mr Drakeford said on Friday that new rules would be introduced to further control the sector.
Today he revealed the measures from Friday at 6pm as anger
Mr Drakeford said unless they respond now there would be additional deaths as the infection rate rises in Wales.
He said the measures are based on what 海角视频 scientific advisory board SAGE had said was working in other parts of the 海角视频.
The Wales Independent Restaurant Collective said the decision would come as a major blow to businesses who have worked incredibly hard to make hospitality safe through the pandemic.
The new measures from 6pm on Friday December 4 include:
Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes will have close by 6pm and will not be allowed to serve alcohol.
They can provide takeaway services only after this time.
From that date indoor entertainment venues like cinemas, bowling alleys soft play centres, skating rinks, amusement arcades and bingo halls must close.
Museums, galleries and other heritage sites will also have to close but outdoor visitor attractions can stay open.
No changes to extended households and gyms and leisure centres can stay open.
In hotels, hospitality facilities can be open to the public until 6pm, and can stay open for residents only until 10pm (same as now). In line with rest of hospitality no alcohol in these premises. Room service can continue as now.
Premises with a license for off-sales can continue to sell alcohol up until 10pm as part of the takeaway offer.
They will make a further announcement on travel restrictions later this week ahead of England's lockdown ending on December 2.
Most Read
This will be frustrating for many accommodation providers who don't know if they can take future bookings from people in England, or even other parts of Wales.
They will review restrictions by December 17 and then every three weeks.
The Welsh Government said it is making further £340m available through its Economic Resilience Fund to support businesses affected by the new changes to the regulations. It will include a specific fund to support hospitality and tourism businesses.
Mr Drakeford said: “Unfortunately, the virus is moving incredibly quickly across Wales and is eroding the gains we made during the firebreak period. We now need to take further steps together as a nation to protect people’s health and slow the spread of coronavirus.
“This virus – and this pandemic – continues to be full of unpleasant surprises. It thrives on our normal human behaviour and all those places and opportunities where we come together.
“It underlines why we need to take further, targeted action now. We will focus these changes on places where we meet and where coronavirus thrives, drawing on recent evidence from the 海角视频 SAGE group of experts about what interventions have had the biggest impact on the virus.”
Package of support
Don’t miss
The £340m consists of £180m of new money specifically for tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses. Up to £100K for SMEs and £150K for larger businesses, linked to the number employed and operating costs. 10,000 businesses expected to benefit. It will be delivered through Business Wales and they hope to make payments before Christmas.
There is also an additonal package of £160m for 60,000 for retail, tourism, hospitality and leisure firms paying business rates as well as their supply chain.
They will receive payments of between £3,000 and £5,000.
Extra discretionary grants for smaller business not on rates list.
These will be handled by local authorities.
Reaction
The Wales Independent Restaurant Collective said: "The severe limitations on trading just announced by the First Minister therefore come as a major blow to the businesses who have worked incredibly hard to make hospitality safe, and who have invested what funds they have left in this.
These new measures are hard to take given the struggle to survive over the past 9 months, and the constantly changing restrictions.
"With the latest announcements, our businesses will have been forced to close for longer this year than we have been allowed to trade. Hospitality has borne the brunt of restrictions not just in Wales but across the 海角视频 and the world and yet with the right measures in place we have proved it can be a safe place for people to meet and socialise during the pandemic.
Ben Francis, FSB Wales policy chair, said: “There is no getting away from the fact that today’s announcement will come as a devastating blow to those indoor entertainment and hospitality firms that have fought tooth and nail to protect jobs, remain viable and provide a safe environment for their staff and customers this year. For many, having a successful run-in to Christmas would have been vital to keeping the business going through the winter.
“The support package announced by the First Minister will be very welcome. It is important to remember that there are going to be supply chain businesses that will feel the serious impacts of these new measures and it is vital that they are able to benefit from financial support.
“It will be incredibly important that this funding can be rolled out as a matter of urgency – businesses will now be in a position that means that they are entirely reliant on this financial support in order to weather the winter. Funding must be accessible, readily available and paid in the quickest possible time so that it can get into the hands of those where it will make a real difference."
Neil McEvoy MS, the leader of the WNP, said: "Drakeford’s coronavirus policies have clearly failed. He’s making it up as he goes along and increasingly sounding like a tin-pot dictator. Who is he to stop people having a pint with their food?
"Rather than chopping and changing every few weeks we need consistent and simple rules that the public understands and trusts.
"Other countries are starting to get back to normal and have moved on. These new measures are catastrophic for Welsh businesses. Drakeford does not seem to understand that poverty kills. The rest of us are paying the price for his failure."