People in Wales are no longer legally required to wear face coverings in shops and on public transport as the regulation ended on Monday.
But the mask mandate remains in health and care settings, and businesses must continue to carry out CCP virus risk assessments and put in place “reasonable measures” accordingly.
These last remaining CCP virus regulations are due to be reviewed on April 14 and lifted on April 18 “if the current public health situation remains stable,” according to the guidance.
While people are no longer legally required to self-isolate after showing COVID-19 symptoms or testing positive for the CCP virus, which causes COVID-19, they are still recommended to do so.
The £500 ($655) support payment for low-income individuals isolating after testing positive will continue to be available until June, First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed.
The Welsh government also “strongly recommend” people to keep wearing face coverings although the legal requirement only applies to health and social care settings.
The change of rules in Wales leaves Scotland the only area in the UK that still mandates mask-wearing in shops and on public transport. The Scottish government is due to confirm on Tuesday whether the rule will remain in place beyond April 4.
The Welsh government previously confirmed in new non-statutory national guidance, which is applicable until the end of the 2021–2022 school term, that primary and secondary school staff and pupils in Scotland will be required to wear masks and practice physical distancing in communal areas.
In England, the last remaining legal restrictions were removed on Feb. 24, and all legal restrictions became guidance in Northern Ireland from Feb. 15.
Downing Street on Monday confirmed there are no plans to reverse the decision to stop universal free provision of CCP virus tests on April 1.
“There’s no plans to change our approach,” said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official spokesman.
“You’ll know the significant cost—billions of pounds we are spending every month providing free testing to the public—and because of vaccines, therapeutics, and other means, we are now in a vastly different position to where we were when we first started providing free testing.
“We’ve said that from April 1 these tests will only be available for free to certain groups and … [the Department of Health and Social Care] will set out the detail in coming days.”
