The Welsh Government has relaxed mask-wearing rules in some public spaces as of today.
Face coverings will no longer be a legal requirement in gyms, museums, cinemas, theatres and community centres.
But on public transport and in retail and healthcare settings, masks will continue to be mandatory for adults and children aged over 11.
Secondary school pupils will also no longer be required to wear a mask in classroom settings after returning from half-term this week.
Wales First Minister Mark Drakeford
Ben Birchall
Schools can set their requirements based on local authority guidelines, meaning some pupils may still be required to wear face-coverings in classrooms and contact bubbles and testing could continue depending on whether the area is high or low risk.
According to the Welsh Government’s school guidance such measures can be ramped up and down.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “We have worked hard to make sure the protections we have in place are proportionate to the public health situation and the risk of coronavirus.
“Thanks to everyone’s hard work and all their sacrifices, cases of coronavirus are falling across Wales. Now is the right time to relax the general requirement to wear a face covering in many indoor public places.
“But we will keep the legal requirement in place in retail, public transport and health and social care, which are widely used and essential sectors.
“This is part of our cautious and careful response to the pandemic. We will continue to consider the latest scientific and medical evidence to inform our approach.
“Later this week I will be setting our longer term plans to manage the pandemic, as we carry out the regular three-week review of the regulations.”
Northern Ireland and Scotland have also begun easing pandemic-related restrictions such as laws on wearing face coverings.
The announcements comes a week after England lifted all remaining Covid restrictions including the requirement to self-isolate after testing positive and the scaling back of access to free Covid tests.
All outstanding face mask rules in Wales could be lifted by the end of March if public health conditions continue to improve said the Welsh Government.
On Friday March 4, the outcome of a further review of all the remaining Covid measures at alert level zero will be reviewed.
