Mark Drakeford said that COVID-19 is now in a “relatively benign position” and that “the level of Coronavirus in Wales is the lowest in the United Kingdom in time for the Spring bank holiday at the end of vaccination are the highest”.
Pubs and restaurants in Wales could reopen indoors in time for the Spring Bank Holiday at the end of May.
Assuming both England and Wales stick to their respective roadmaps this will see Welsh hospitality open around two weeks after England for both outdoor and indoor trading.
From 3 May, wedding receptions with up to 30 people can take place outdoors.
The proposed roadmap will be good news for Welsh operators, who recently urged first minister Mark Drakeford to rescue them from “limbo” with more support and clarification on when they can resume business.
Publicans and operators who run hundreds of pubs in Wales complained they had reached crisis point.
They criticised the Welsh government for insufficient financial backing and failure to set out clarity on reopening in contrast to Westminster and Holyrood which had been more forthcoming in England and Scotland.
Last week Matt Connolly, founder of Sticky Fingers Street Food in Cardiff, launched a crowdfund campaign to help cover the costs of mounting a legal challenge against the devolved government's failure to provide the country's hospitality sector with a reopening date.
