London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 24, 2025

Covid in Wales: Hospital mask rule ends as emergency law expires

Covid in Wales: Hospital mask rule ends as emergency law expires

The wearing of face masks will no longer be legally required in Welsh health and social care services from Monday.

First Minister Mark Drakeford is set to axe the last of Wales' Covid rules, which have been in place in some form since March 2020.

Ministers said the public health situation had continued to improve over the last few weeks.

Wales was the last part of the UK with Covid restrictions still in place.

However most of the rules that impacted people's day to day lives, such as wearing face masks in shops and on public transport and self-isolation rules, ended in March.

Numbers testing positive for Covid have fallen in recent weeks, with the number of hospital patients testing positive for the virus also declining, according to recent estimates.

However the Welsh government said the NHS continued to experience "emergency and pandemic pressures".

Guidance will remain in place strongly recommending the use of face coverings in health settings to help protect the most vulnerable.

Helen Whyley, director of nurses union RCN Wales, urged people to continue wearing masks in healthcare settings if asked.

She said: "The legal requirement may be removed, however health and social care professionals across settings are still asking people to think carefully about wearing a mask when attending appointments or visiting friends and family. In some circumstances staff may ask you to wear a mask.

"I am encouraging everyone to be respectful with these requests to help keep the people of Wales safe and health care services recover from the pandemic."

Broader mask rules were scrapped earlier in the year


Recent infection survey data from the Office for National Statistics said that one in 40 people were estimated to have Covid - a reduction for a fifth successive week.

Earlier this week figures showed that the number of Covid admissions to hospitals in Wales were averaging nine a day, the first time they had been in single figures since mid-July last year.

Welsh Conservative shadow health minister Russell George said he was delighted with the news that Covid regulations were ending.

He said: "Not only do we need to remember all those who lost lives and loved ones to lockdowns and the virus itself, but learn the lessons of the pandemic about how we can counter another one and assess the impact of deploying harsh emergency restrictions on our population.

"But none of us will ever get the answers we deserve without the Wales-specific public inquiry everyone in the country wants apart from, not surprisingly, the Labour government who run scared of scrutiny."

The Welsh government has backed a UK-wide inquiry, saying it would better reflect how decisions were taken in a UK context.


What was Wales' Covid law?


Although the requirement to wear a face covering in health and social care was not part of the original legislation, coronavirus rules in Wales have existed in some form since March 2020.

The law was used to impose strict curbs on people's day to day lives, including three stay-at-home lockdowns, restrictions on travel and on what businesses could and could not do.

In Wales masks became obligatory in all indoor public places in September 2020.

Powers under public health legislation meant the rules could be imposed quickly, without always having to go to the Senedd for a vote first. Welsh ministers added and removed measures as the Covid situation changed.

Initially the rules were largely the same across the UK, although this changed as England reopened in the summer of 2020, and differences developed between the different nations.

In the winter the Welsh government used the law to impose restrictions on licensed premises, and close nightclubs - moves not mirrored in England, but that fell short of a full lockdown that had been advised.

The law had a recently-set expiry date of 30 May 2022. But Welsh government ministers, in their latest review of the legislation, have now chosen to allow the law to end on that date.


Mark Drakeford's approach to sometimes ease restrictions slower than in England, and to impose restrictions during the first Omicron wave in the autumn, had been criticised by the Welsh Conservatives for being too stringent or for not moving fast enough to lift rules.

But the Welsh government has said it had the public's support for how it managed the regulations.

While the requirement to self-isolate has ended in law, and only LFTs and not PCR tests are now available to the general public, routine contract tracing has continued in Wales.

Under the Welsh government's Covid-19 strategy, it will end in June. It ended in England on 24 February.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
×