Welsh Government should have gone further with Omicron restrictions, doctor says

A Trethomas GP has criticised the Welsh Government’s latest coronavirus restrictions, saying they don’t go far enough.

On Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed new restrictions would come into place from December 27, amid a rise in cases of the new Omicron variant.

The measures will see nightclubs close and extra measures for shops and workplaces.

Dr David Bailey, who is the chairman of the British Medical Association in Wales, told BBC Radio Wales he would have liked to have seen the Welsh Government go “a bit further” to stop the spread of the new variant, but admitted he felt the First Minister was “walking a tightrope”.

Dr Bailey, a GP at Ty Bryn surgery, said if this had been any time other than Christmas, the Welsh Government would have gone further with restrictions.

He said: “If you could choose two weeks to have a really rapid rollout, these would be the last two weeks on earth that you would choose, with the bank holiday, weekends, the fact that lots of people are already on holiday. A lot of people are concerned they’re going to be getting side effects before Christmas and are a little bit reluctant.”

But he said the Welsh Government needs to buy as much time as it can to get the booster vaccines out to provide protection against Omicron.

Dr Bailey said the measures taken by the Welsh Government are probably “the least far you can go,” and said if stricter measures were brought in, it would delay the impact of Omicron.

“We don’t know exactly how severe the new Omicron is going to be – what we do know is it’s dramatically more transmissible, so buying a few extra days would certainly help.”

Speaking at the Welsh Government’s press briefing on Friday, Mr Drakeford said Delta was still the dominant variant in Wales, but said Omicron will have taken that title by the end of the month.

The First Minister said: “This year a smaller Christmas is a safer Christmas. The fewer people we see, the less chance we have of catching or passing on the virus.

“Please enjoy Christmas with your nearest and dearest – and think about meeting up with wider circles of friends when the threat posed by the omicron variant has passed over.

“I also want to thank the many thousands of people who will be working this Christmas to keep us safe – especially all those who have cancelled their plans to work in the vaccination centres across Wales to increase our protection against this awful virus.”