For visitors to Pembrokeshire
Important COVID-19 announcements and dates
Important announcements & dates for visitors to Pembrokeshire
Updated: 28 January 2022
28 January 2022: At 6am 28th January, Wales moved to Alert Level Zero. Nightclubs will be able to re-open, COVID Pass is needed for large indoor events, nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and concert halls. Working from home remains important but moves from law to guidance. In hospitality, no restrictions on meeting people and no requirement for table service or 2-metre physical distancing. Face coverings are still required on public transport and in most indoor public places – some businesses may continue to ask their customers to wear a face covering.
21 January 2022: From Friday 21st January there will be no legal limits on the number of people that can meet outdoors in a hospitality setting. Limits on sporting events have been scrapped however anyone over 18 will still have to show a COVID Pass for large outdoor events. Face masks remain mandatory in all indoor public places, including when not seated in a pub, café or restaurant.
22nd December 2021: From 6am 26th December Pembrokeshire and Wales will enter Alert Level Two with new restrictions including 2m social distancing in all settings, a maximum of 6 people can meet in public premises such as pubs, cinemas and restaurants, licensed premises will have to offer table service only, face masks will have to be worn and contact tracing details collected. All night clubs will close. Face coverings are still required in shops, on public transport and in health settings. Read Alert Level Two guidance for more detailed information.
17th December 2021: In response to the Omicron variant, the First Minister announced from the 27th December all night clubs will close, social distancing will be reintroduced into offices and shops. One way systems will be reintroduced at supermarkets. Face coverings are still required in shops, on public transport and in health settings. Read announcement.
7th August 2021: Wales moved to Alert Level Zero. Restrictions in Wales do vary from other home nations, for details of restrictions applicable to Wales please read the public guidance.
3rd May 2021: Gyms, leisure centres spas and swimming pools can reopen. A maximum of 6 people from 6 households can meet outdoors including in private gardens and outdoor areas of regulated premises. Organised children’s indoor activities can recommence, such as sporting, cultural and wider recreational groups and clubs. Organised indoor activities for adults can also recommence for up to 15 people, including, exercise classes and swimming lessons.
26th April 2021: Outdoor attractions, including funfairs and theme parks, would be allowed to reopen. Outdoor hospitality can resume, including at cafes, pubs and restaurants. Indoor hospitality will remain closed except for takeaways. Organised outdoor activities for up to 30 people can again take place. Weddings receptions can take place outdoors for up to 30 people.
12th April 2021: All remaining shops will reopen, completing the phased reopening of non-essential retail. All remaining close contact services will open. Travel restrictions on travelling into and out of Wales will be lifted.
19th December midnight: Wales is currently at coronavirus alert level four with strict measures in place to limit the spread of the virus. Alert level four means all non-essential retail, close contact services, gyms and leisure centres and hospitality close at the end of trading. Stay-at-home restrictions also come into effect from midnight. The restrictions are changing frequently, so it’s important that you check on the Welsh Government website before visiting or travelling to Wales or within Wales. Welsh Government – Coronavirus regulations.
04th December 6pm: Licensed pubs, cafes, and restaurants will have to stop serving alcohol on their premises. They will close at 18:00 every day until further notice. They can operate a takeaway service for food and drink after 18:00. The regulations will be reviewed on 17 December.
If you’re planning to visit Wales on holiday or to visit friends and family before the Christmas break please read the restrictions in place here
If you’re planning to visit Wales during the Christmas break of 23rd – 27th December please read the regulations for this specific time period here
Frequently asked questions relating to the new measures can be found here.
09th November: A new set of national measures have come into force. Frequently asked questions relating to the new measures can be found here.
From this time, if you do not live in Wales, travel into Wales is not allowed without a reasonable reason (for example travelling for work purposes). Visiting family and friends or having a holiday is not currently considered a reasonable reason, although we hope to be able to welcome you in the not too distant future.
You are allowed to go on holiday within Wales if you live here, but not to enter Wales from elsewhere for that purpose. A holiday is not one of the permitted reasons to leave Wales under the Regulations, whether that is elsewhere in the UK or abroad.
02nd November: A new and simpler set of national rules will apply once the Wales-wide firebreak lockdown comes to an end at 00:01 on Monday 9 November.
The new national measures include:
- The need to maintain two-metre social distancing and wear face masks in enclosed public places, including on public transport and taxis, will continue
- The requirement to work from home whenever possible will remain
- People should only meet with their ‘bubble’ in their own home and only two households will be able to form a ‘bubble’. If one person from either household develops symptoms, everyone should immediately self-isolate
- Up to 15 people can take part in an organised indoors activity and up to 30 in an organised activity outdoors, providing all social distancing, hand hygiene and other covid safety measures are followed
- All premises, such as restaurants, cafes, pubs and gyms, closed during the firebreak, will be able to reopen. Following the announcement about the English lockdown, Ministers are having ongoing discussions with the hospitality sector about the detailed rules for reopening. This includes about meeting in public indoor spaces
- As part of keeping our risks to a minimum, people should avoid non-essential travel as much as possible. There will be no legal restrictions on travel within Wales for residents, but international travel should be for essential reasons only.
Some of the new measures are still being finalised following the announcement over the weekend about a month-long lockdown in England, which will start on Thursday 5th November.
23rd October: From 23 October to 9 November 2020, Pembrokeshire and Wales will enter into a two-week firebreak. What restrictions are 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 can provide learning online only for the week after half-term, other than for children in years seven and eight. Primary schools and childcare settings can 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
24th September: Hospitality businesses across Wales including hotels, pubs, bars and restaurants must offer a table only service and stop selling alcohol at 10 pm, and be closed (with no members of the public allowed to be on the premises) by 10.20 pm.
All off-licences, including supermarkets and convenience stores, can remain open but will have to stop selling alcohol in-store from 10pm.
Face coverings remain mandatory in all shops and indoor public places and have been extended in hospitality premises.
Now customers entering and leaving restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes and walking around the premises are required to wear a face covering.
Customers are permitted to remove face coverings when seated at a table to eat and drink.
Staff working at restaurants, pubs, bars and cafes must now wear a face covering.
NHS Covid-19 App
Members of the public are also encouraged to download and use the NHS Covid-19 app. The app is available for both Android and Apple IOS operating systems.
14th September: Face coverings will be mandatory in all shops and indoor public places. Under 11’s and people with certain health conditions are exempt.
Indoor meeting of more than six people from an extended household will be NOT be allowed. This does not include children 11 and under.
Only one household or 6 persons in an extended household/support bubble can stay in the same accommodation. This does not include any children aged under 11.
Up to 30 people can still meet OUTDOORS, including in people’s gardens.
1st September: Schools and colleges start to return after the summer break.
29th August: Indoor visits to care homes. Casinos re-open.
22nd August: Up to four households can form an extended household. Guests of up to 30 people for socially distanced meals at weddings and funerals.
10th August: Indoor fitness including swimming pools, gyms, spas and leisure centres re-open*. Children’s indoor play areas can re-open.
3rd August: Indoor pubs, bars, restaurants & cafés can re-open. Wedding venues can re-open.
Up to 30 people can meet up outdoors following social distancing guidelines of 2 meters.
27th July: Cinemas, museums and galleries to re-open subject to confirmation
25th July: Campsites re-open subject to the success of self-contained accommodation on the 11th July.
20th July: Playgrounds and outdoor gyms can re-open.
13th July: Wales’ hospitality sector: pubs, bars and restaurants – outdoors only. Also, some indoor attractions will re-open.
11th July: re-opening self-contained holiday accommodation.
What do you mean by self-contained holiday accommodation?
This includes any accommodation that is entirely self-contained, e.g. holiday cottages, holiday caravans including modern touring caravans and motorhomes and some glamping accommodation with their own kitchens and bathrooms that no other guests use.
Also in this category:
Hotels and other serviced accommodation (e.g. B&Bs, hostels, etc.) that do provide en-suite rooms and can provide room service meals.
Caravan parks where accommodation is entirely self-contained – but shared facilities on the premises will remain closed, such as swimming pools, leisure facilities, shared shower and toilets blocks, shared laundry, etc, and public areas in other accommodation types. This means any caravan or touring site where individual accommodation has its own supply of water for onboard shower, WC and cooking with strict application of guidance on shared waste disposal and water points.
All shared facilities, aside from water and disposal points, will remain closed including toilets, shower blocks, laundry, restaurants, nightclubs, bars, cafes, etc.
9th July: next review of the regulations by the Welsh Government, to include options for reopening self-contained holiday accommodation.
6th July: stay local restrictions lifted which means people are able to move around Wales