All non-essential retail in Wales will close from the end of trading on Christmas Eve. Credit: Phil Beard via flickr.

The Welsh Government has announced plans to close all non-essential retail after Christmas Eve trading to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The decision is part of the new countrywide lockdown confirmed by First Minister Mark Drakeford.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Wales will move into alert Level 4 lockdown with tightest measures starting 28 December as the number of infections and those being treated in hospital for Covid-19 continues to rise.

As part of these measures, close contact services and all leisure and fitness centres will cease to operate for a temporary period.

However, click and collect will be permitted following strict measures outside of stores.

All hospitality locations will be closed from 6pm on Christmas Day.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

Speaking of the development, Mark Drakeford said: We are seeing levels of coronavirus in some parts of the country that we haven’t experienced at any point before in this pandemic. This pandemic is putting our NHS under intense and sustained strain.

“There are more than 2,100 people with coronavirus symptoms in our hospitals – equivalent to five general hospitals fully occupied by people with coronavirus.

“This has been such a long and difficult year. We need to take this action to save lives and control the spread of this awful virus.”

In a recent development, the Dutch Government decided to keep all non-essential stores closed during the new five-week lockdown, which starts from 15 December until at least 19 January.