Dear Friend, 

I hope you and your families are well during these trying times. 

Over the weekend we saw our First Minister extend the lockdown, maintaining the same restrictions in place for the next three weeks. The message in Wales remains the same – stay home, protect the NHS, save lives.

The Prime Minister’s subsequent announcements on easing lockdown restrictions in England were both confusing and careless. A dangerous series of ifs and buts which confuses rather than clarifies. 

The Coronavirus crisis has not by any means been averted. This huge loss of life – the highest death toll in Europe – has signalled a change in message from the UK Government which will undoubtedly trigger a change in behaviour across the UK. However the evidence shows that the slightest change in behaviour could claim the lives of thousands more. The very evidence on which the Welsh Government had based their decision to maintain lockdown restrictions in Wales.

The Prime Minister has assured us that if the statistics in England show that this is the wrong path to take he will ‘pump on the brakes’, failing to grasp that behind these statistics are thousands of preventable deaths and grieving families. Getting this wrong is simply not an option.

What the UK needs is clarity and reassurance – a coherent and clear four nations approach to how we play our part to stay safe in the worst public health crisis in over a century. Instead, we have a UK Government roadmap with no clear direction, evoking more questions than answers which will potentially cost lives.

The UK Government has failed to heed the calls of Wales and other devolved nations, for a four-nation approach to vital Covid-19 decisions. When the virus knows no borders we should not underestimate the danger of divergence. 

Saving lives must always come first. My Labour colleagues and I will continue to remind the Prime Minister of this where he falls woefully short.

As ever, if you would like to get in touch with me please contact [email protected].

With very best wishes, 

His message has not changed because the virus has not changed and remains a threat to us all - we must continue to stay home and save lives. However, this roadmap out of lockdown sets out changes that could be made to ease restrictions without the virus spiralling and unravelling our efforts over the last 8 weeks. Changes will only be made when the science demonstrates it is safe to do so, not based on arbitrary dates. 

The Education Minister has echoed the First Minister's sentiments and has today confirmed that there are no plans for a return to school on June 1st and will also use the science as the basis for decision making, not arbitrary dates. 

The world we are moving towards is not the same pre-COVID world. Until there is a vaccine we must adapt to a future with the virus in it and this roadmap is the start of that important conversation.

Nothing can bring back their loved ones, but I am pleased the Home Secretary has responded appropriately after much persuasion, and families will be spared further turmoil.

In an urgent letter to the Secretary of State for International Development, I expressed the vital need for the British government to put pressure on the UN Security Council to ensure vital cross-border aid reaches millions of people in Syria amidst the coronavirus pandemic, or cause unimaginable damage to humanitarian efforts.

Currently the only way the international community can take action to prepare, prevent and respond to Covid-19 is through cross-border aid. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), fewer than two-thirds of the country’s hospitals are operational, and 70 per cent of healthcare workers have fled the country which has been at war for the last nine years.

Global leaders cannot allow the incubation of the virus, which threatens the lives of the most vulnerable and may also jeopardise the health of citizens at home through a second wave. 

I have yet to receive a response from the Secretary of State, but I will keep urging the UK to use its global influence to push the Council to renew and expand vital border crossings into Syria.

I am deeply concerned by the prospect of mass gatherings in Heath Park on Saturday, posters for which have been circulating on social media. I immediately reported this to South Wales Police who are taking the appropriate steps. The Welsh Government message remains the same - stay home. 

Whilst this event may be a hoax, the damage may have already been done - encouraging those who seek to flout the rules that are there to protect us. The slightest change in our behaviour at present risks the virus spiralling and thousands of preventable deaths.

I sincerely hope people will do the right thing, abide by the law and save lives.

The Welsh Government has produced a list of common Q&As relating to what we can and can't do in Wales during lockdown. Click the link to find out more.