Minister condemns Welsh Government’s plans to keep self-isolation rules

David TC Davies, the under-secretary of state for Wales, has said that diverging policies on self-isolation will cause “confusion and inconvenience” for those who travel regularly across both nations. 

The Monmouth MP told the PA news agency that “The UK Government have always acted on scientific evidence, and have always been committed to returning people’s liberties as quickly as possible, whereas the Welsh Government seems to want to keep restrictions on freedom in place for as long as possible”.

“And that highlights the difference between a Welsh Labour and a Conservative UK government”.

“This is just going to cause confusion and inconvenience for people living in Wales”, he added.

This comes as the Welsh Government announced its plans to keep self-isolation rules. Boris Johnson surprised many on Wednesday when he announced during Prime Minister’s Questions that all Covid restrictions could be scrapped by the end of this month.

The Welsh Government has said it is not considering removing the regulation until at least the end of March.

Current rules stipulate that those who test positive for Covid should quarantine for five days.

During a press conference on Friday to announce the three-week review of the rules in Wales, the Welsh economy minister, Vaughan Gething, told journalists: “I think people have got used to the fact there has occasionally been differences between the two countries. It’s very clear though, the rules of Wales apply when you’re in Wales”.