Bowing to media and Tory pressure to reopen Wales must be resisted.

I must admit I am in no rush to go to the pub , and I am going to wait till I am assured that the current wave of corana-19 virus has come to an end and will keep an eye on any possibility of  second wave starting anywhere in the world.

Should the pubs re-open? If I was  First Minister I would have waited a bit longer to see how the lockdown  easing has worked before announcing that we would follow much of Boris Johnsons 's reopening of pubs fro example.

Police forces across the country said on the whole there were no significant issues.

“It’s vital that we don’t lose track of how far we have come and all act responsibly and play our part to minimise the spread of coronavirus,” said Bas Javid, a commander at London's Metropolitan Police.

John Apter, chair of the Police Federation, who was on patrol in the southern England city of Southampton, said it was a busy shift, one that saw officers having to deal with naked men, “happy” drunks as well as “angry” drunks. He said the shift “managed to cope” but it was “crystal clear” that those who have imbibed one too many cannot, or won't, socially distance.

Pubs and restaurants worked hard to get ready for the moment, spacing tables, putting some staff behind plastic counters and registering customers upon arrival. The wearing of masks is optional though, even for staff.

Rafal Liszewski, a store manager in the London district of Soho, voiced concerns about the swelling crowds on Saturday.

“Quickly everything got out of control and by 8-9 p.m. it was a proper street party with people dancing and drinking,” he said. “Barely anyone was wearing masks and nobody respected social distancing .... to be honest with that many people on one street it was physically impossible.”

Some fear the British government is being overly hasty, even reckless, in sanctioning the changes. The U.K.'s confirmed virus death toll of 44,220 is the third-highest in the world, behind the United States and Brazil. The reopening of bars and restaurants in the United States and elsewhere has been blamed for a spike in new infections.

So it is possible that we  may see a rise of cases across the boarder (Yes there is one)  and with news that the  

government of Catalonia has ordered an indefinite new lockdown for the Segria region of Spain due to outbreaks of Covid-19.

The confinement came into effect at midday on Saturday and has no end date, regional president Quim Torra said.

“We take a step back to protect ourselves and we will take all the decisions to stop the contagion,” he said.

Around 209,000 people live in 38 municipalities across the Segria region in the west of Catalonia, whose capital is Leida.

I never thought I was a member  of the elite belong on the State Pension and unlike the Vale of Glamorgan Farmer Andrew RT Davies. who is also a Senedd member , have probably zero influence 

Andrew RT Davies

@AndrewRTDavies

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22h

Twitter has been at its sneering best over the past 24-hours. That snobbish & liberal-elite reaction to people simply wanting to enjoy a pint down the pub after months under lock & key. It’s been amusing to watch & in Wales we’ll get to witness it all again next week. Cheers

but I honestly can't see people properly social distancing and its possible if the weather improves the amount flocking to the pubs will increase rapidly and a corresponding rise in infections.

First Mark Drakeford  once said "England is not a Template for Wales to follow", which  is an important point.

Tories like Andrew RT Davies would rather we abandon the Firat Minister  approach and certainly that of the Scottish First Minister.

But bowing to media and Tory pressure so that we reopen Wales in the same way as England will only serve us if thee evidence is that it has worked over the boarder.

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