£1.1b coronavirus support package to be announced by Welsh Government

A £1.1 billion support package to help the Welsh economy and public services deal with the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) is set to be announced by Welsh Government this week.

Details of funding to help businesses will be revealed by First Minister Mark Drakeford on Monday (March 30), with further schemes to be announced throughout the week.

The sum includes funds reallocated from other budgets, as well as new money from the UK Treasury.

The Welsh Government has already offered rate relief to businesses in Wales as part of a £200m package, with a further £100m made available for a new grant scheme for small businesses which are not eligible for the new business rate relief.

Currently, more than 500 cases of the virus have been confirmed in Gwent.

Across Wales, 1,241 people have tested positive for the virus, with the number of deaths currently standing at 48.

Sarah Aitken, director of public health at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, has said Gwent is following “the same pattern as we’re seeing in Italy”.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove has said the UK is facing a “significant period” of measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Gove was not prepared to say how long the lockdown could last, but said the peak of the outbreak is “not a fixed point, a date in the diary like Easter”

He said the date of the peak of the outbreak “depends on all of our behaviour”, and urged people to follow social distancing rules.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has himself tested positive for coronavirus, has warned “things will get worse before they get better”.

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