Member Update 15
MEMBER UPDATE
I am sorry to bring this news to those clubs that are currently open, but all clubs must close later this week, both indoor and outdoor.
Yesterday, The First Minister confirmed that Wales will enter a “fire break” lockdown at 6pm on Friday the 23 October. This period will continue until the 9th of November. Also, be aware that when the 9 November comes around, there is no picture of what will happen then, we will wait and see.
There are ‘Extensive FAQs’ available on the Welsh Government website, including sections on sport and exercise: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-circuit-break-frequently-asked-questions, and I have listed the relevant ones below.
To summarise, the key messages are that:
This is a “stay at home order”, people are expected to stay at home as much as possible.
People must work from home where possible. Only critical workers should work as normal.
All businesses such as retail, hospitality, leisure etc, except “essential retail” will close, similar to the position in April.
Licensed childcare can stay open. Primary school will return as normal after half term, with year 7 & 8 also returning to school.
All gatherings with people outside of your immediate household will not be permitted, whether indoors or outdoors.
Exercise should start and end at home (unless there are mobility issues etc).
No specific form of exercise is prohibited, and there are no constraints on duration/distance, however there are practical limits on what people may do imposed by the stay at home order and the closure of some businesses.
The period is strictly time limited to two weeks.
There are further funds being released by the Welsh Government to businesses affected, payment of some of these funds will be automatic.
More information will be circulated as it emerges, including any financial support available but the overriding message is not to do anything that will burden the NHS during this period. The situation will be very similar to that of late March/early April, although you, as individuals, will be allowed to undertake ‘unlimited’ exercise.
What do you mean by a “circuit breaker lockdown”?
A short, sharp “circuit breaker” or “firebreak” will be introduced across Wales at the end of this week to help regain control of coronavirus. This means that a series of restrictive measures will be in place from 6pm Friday 23 October until the start of Monday 9 November 2020.
Why is this being done?
The fortnight-long action is needed to save lives and prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed.
Cases of coronavirus have been rising sharply in Wales as the virus has woken up for winter. While the national and local measures put in place across Wales have helped to keep that spread under check, there is a growing consensus that additional action is now needed.
Between October 10 and 16, there were 3,870 new confirmed cases of coronavirus recorded by Public Health Wales, based on positive test results but the real level of infections will be much higher. The number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms is growing daily and sadly, so too, are the number of people dying with coronavirus.
The R number is at 1.4 and the seven-day rolling incidence rate for Wales stands at more than 120 cases per 100,000 population.
What restrictions will be in place?
There are 5 main things:
· people must stay at home, except for very limited purposes
· people must not visit other households or meet other people they do not live with
· certain businesses and venues, including bars, restaurants and most shops must close
· secondary schools will provide learning online only for the week after half-term, other than for children in years seven and eight. Primary schools and childcare settings will remain open.
· face coverings continue to be mandatory in the indoor public spaces that remain open (subject to certain exemptions and exceptions), including on public transport and in taxis
If you break these new laws:
· You may be told to go home or removed from where you are and returned home.
· You could have to pay a fixed penalty notice of £60. This will rise to £120 for the second breach,
· Or you could have criminal proceedings brought against you, and if found guilty, you will have to pay a fine.
Even where something may be allowed, we ask you not to think about whether it is permitted but whether it is truly necessary and sensible. The purpose of this short lockdown is to create a concerted national effort to do everything we can to stop the spread of corononavirus, and every individual contribution to that counts.
How long will these measures stay in place?
These measures will be in place from 6pm Friday 23 October until the start of Monday 9 November 2020.
What will happen after Monday 9 November?
Following the end of the fire-break, a new set of national rules will be introduced, covering how people can meet and how the public sector and businesses operate.
My area is currently subject to local restrictions – do these continue as well?
No – the circuit breaker lockdown will apply in the same way across Wales.
Staying at home
When can I leave home?
You should only be outside of your home for very limited reasons, which include:
· the need to obtain supplies and services for you or your household, for example food, medicine, and essential household maintenance. We encourage everyone to make this as infrequently as possible
· to exercise, alone or with members of your household. We encourage this to be done locally.
· to access childcare and education
· to access medical services or other public services
· to deposit and withdraw money from a bank or similar establishment
· to provide care for or to help a vulnerable person; this includes getting food or medicines for them
· to help the NHS by donating blood
· for work purposes, or voluntary or charitable purposes, but only where it is not reasonably practicable to do this from home
· to visit a cemetery, burial ground or garden of remembrance to pay your respects
· to attend a wedding, civil partnership or funeral if you are invited
· to attend court or meet other legal obligations
· to escape a risk of illness or injury, such as for victims or people at risk of domestic abuse
· to access services provided to victims of crime or domestic abuse or those at imminent risk of becoming victims
Whenever you leave home, you should try to minimise time spent outside of the home, and ensure you stay at least 2 metres away from anyone you don’t live with or are in a permitted “bubble” with.
Will shielding be reinstated?
It is not necessary for those who are clinically extremely vulnerable to adopt strict shielding measures during this period. The regulations in place themselves act to reduce the circulation of the virus and by sticking strictly to the rules, people who are vulnerable will reduce their risk of exposure. Further reductions in risk can be achieved by:
· keeping contacts outside the household to a minimum and avoiding all situations either inside or outside where a a physical distance of 2m from those outside your household cannot be maintained
· shopping at quieter times of day and going once per week rather than every day, if you cannot do this online
· washing hands regularly for 20 seconds with soap and water and using hand sanitiser where hand washing facilities are not available
· wearing a face covering when required
· avoiding touching surfaces that have been touched by others
Exercise and outdoor activity
Can I leave home to exercise?
Yes. Exercise is important for physical and mental health, and you can leave home as often as you like to exercise as long as you do so from home and alone or with members of your household (and/or a carer).
What kind of exercise is permitted?
There are no legal limits on this, but in practice this is constrained by other restrictions that have been imposed such as the closure of leisure centres, gyms and swimming pools. As one of the purposes of the restrictions is to reduce pressure on the Welsh NHS, we also ask people to avoid activities that involve a significant degree of risk (for example swimming or other exercise at sea, or in lakes, rivers or other waterways).
Can I drive somewhere to exercise?
Exercise should be undertaken locally – from home or as close as possible to the home. In general this should not involve people driving to a location away from home for this purpose. No journeys of any significant distance should be taken, for example, just in order to exercise in the countryside or at beauty spots.
People with specific health or mobility issues may, however, need to travel from their home in order to be able to exercise. For example, some wheelchair users may not be able to start to exercise immediately outside their homes for practical access reasons, and may need to drive to a suitable flat location, such as a park, for this purpose. In these circumstances the journey should be to the nearest convenient accessible location and no long journeys should be undertaken unless absolutely necessary.
The need to carry sports equipment isn’t regarded as a justification on its own for driving in these circumstances.
Will professional or elite sports be allowed?
Sportspeople who work and earn a living through sport are allowed to continue working, and like everyone else they can leave home to do so if they cannot work from home. However, the elite programme, overseen by Sport Wales, will be suspended during this circuit breaker period.
Enforcement and fines
Who enforces the restrictions?
The restrictions are being enforced by local authority environmental health officers and the police.
What can enforcement officers do?
They can issue fixed penalty notices or recommend prosecution in a magistrates’ court. In addition, they have wide-ranging powers to take practical steps to disperse gatherings, require people to go home and enter property.
What if reasonable measures to minimise the risk of exposure to coronavirus aren’t taken on premises or in the workplace?
Local authority enforcement officers are now able to issue a “premises improvement notice”. This requires the person responsible for the premises to take specified measures, and if those measures are not taken an officer may issue a “premises closure notice” requiring the premises to close. Where necessary, an officer may also issue a premises closure notice without having previously issued a premises improvement notice.
So if people don’t comply premises can be closed down.
What will the police do?
The police in Wales will engage with people, explain what they need to do and encourage them to comply. But our police forces have been given powers and they will use them – the restrictions will be enforced if people don’t respond.
What are the financial penalties?
The coronavirus regulations include provisions for a fixed penalty notice to be issued for most types of breaches of the regulations, carrying a fine of £60; this is increased to £120 for a second offence and continues to double for repeated offences, up to a maximum of £1,920. If prosecuted, however, a court can impose any fine (it is not limited).
Organising an unlicensed music event of more than 30 people is a separate criminal offence. These are events that are not licensed or otherwise authorised under the Licensing Act 2003. A breach of this prohibition will be an offence punishable by conviction and an unlimited fine or, as an alternative to conviction, by a fixed penalty set at £10,000.
The unlimited fine or significant fixed penalty for organisers of these illegal events reflects the potentially serious public health consequences at this time.
We hope people understand the severity of the situation we are facing and will comply with the regulations, without having to be issued penalties.
Colin Metson
Chief Executive Officer