Timeline of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales (2020) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This is a timeline of important events about the COVID-19 pandemic in Wales during 2020. Wales is one of the four countries in the UK, and it had its own rules and ways of reporting about the virus. This timeline will help you understand how the pandemic unfolded in Wales throughout that year.

Timeline of COVID-19 in Wales: Key Events of 2020
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Timeline of COVID-19 in Wales: Key Events of 2020

February 2020

28 February – The first case of coronavirus in Wales was confirmed. It was someone who had just returned from a holiday in Italy.

March 2020

11 March – Wales had its first case of "community transmission." This means a patient got COVID-19 without traveling or knowing someone who had it.
12 March – The first case in North Wales was found at Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
13 March – Vaughan Gething, the Health Minister for Wales, announced that hospitals would stop non-urgent appointments and operations. This was to help slow down the virus.
17 March – The National Assembly for Wales (now called the Senedd) was closed to the public.
23 March – Mark Drakeford, the First Minister of Wales, was advised to start the first "stay at home" lockdown. This rule meant people had to stay home unless it was for essential reasons. It was reviewed every three weeks.

April 2020

1 April –
- The National Assembly for Wales met online using Zoom.
8 April – First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed that the lockdown in Wales would continue for longer than first planned.
12 April – The temporary Dragon's Heart Hospital opened at Cardiff's Principality Stadium. It was set up to help with many COVID-19 patients.
20 April – Experts said the number of confirmed cases was "flattening out." This meant the number of people in hospital for COVID-19 was starting to fall in Wales.
22 April – Doctors in Wales asked First Minister Mark Drakeford to stop people from using second homes during the outbreak.
28 April – Figures showed that many deaths in England and Wales were happening in care homes.

May 2020

8 May – First Minister Mark Drakeford extended the lockdown. However, people could now exercise outside more often, and some garden centres could reopen.
10 May – The UK government changed its coronavirus message to "stay alert, control the virus, save lives." But leaders in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland decided to keep the original message: "stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives."
15 May – First Minister Mark Drakeford talked about a "traffic lights" plan for Wales to come out of lockdown. Wales was in the "red zone," meaning strict rules were still in place.
29 May – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that from 1 June, people from two different households could meet outdoors in Wales.
31 May – Vaughan Gething said that people who were shielding (staying home because they were very vulnerable) could also meet one other household outside from 1 June.

June 2020

3 June – Education Minister Kirsty Williams announced that all schools in Wales would reopen from 29 June. Students would attend in smaller groups.
9 June – Vaughan Gething said people in Wales should wear three-layer face coverings when social distancing was hard, like on public transport.
18 June – Workers at a chicken factory in Llangefni, Anglesey, had to self-isolate after more than 100 people there tested positive for COVID-19.
19 June – The Welsh Government shared its plan to ease lockdown rules. From 22 June, shops could reopen, and outdoor sports could restart. Travel rules within Wales would be lifted from 6 July.
22 June – The Welsh Government confirmed that over 1,000 hospital patients were sent to care homes without a coronavirus test early in the lockdown.
24 June – First Minister Mark Drakeford said the two-metre social distancing rule would stay in Wales.
29 June –
- The Welsh Government announced that two households in Wales could form an "extended household" from 6 July. This meant they could meet indoors and stay overnight.
- Schools reopened in Wales.
- Families of workers at a meat factory in Merthyr Tydfil were told to self-isolate after many people there tested positive.

July 2020

2 July – The Welsh Government announced that pubs, bars, cafes, and restaurants could open their outdoor areas from 13 July.
3 July – First Minister Mark Drakeford lifted the "stay local" travel rule for Wales from 6 July. Outdoor attractions could also reopen, and two households could meet indoors.
6 July – Wales lifted its "stay local" restrictions, meaning there were no limits on travel within Wales.
9 July – All state schools in Wales would reopen in September, with some social distancing for pupils.
13 July – Hairdressers and barbers reopened in Wales. The First Minister announced that face coverings would be required on public transport from 27 July.
16 July – Wales's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton, confirmed that the 130,000 people shielding in Wales would no longer need to do so from 16 August.
20 July – Playgrounds, outdoor gyms, and funfairs were allowed to reopen.
24 July – First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed that cinemas, museums, and beauty salons could reopen from 27 July.
27 July –
- Beauty salons, tattooists, nail bars, spas, tanning shops, museums, and art galleries reopened. Driving lessons also restarted.
- Wearing face coverings became mandatory on public transport in Wales.
31 July – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that swimming pools, gyms, leisure centres, and indoor play areas could reopen from 3 August. Children under 11 would no longer need to stay two metres apart from others.

August 2020

6 August – Wales became the first part of the UK to place quarantine rules on travellers arriving from Belgium, the Bahamas, and Andorra.
10 August – Gyms, swimming pools, and soft play areas reopened in Wales.
13 August – A Level results were published. Many grades were lower than teachers had predicted.
14 August – The Welsh Government delayed the easing of rules for meeting indoors. From 22 August, four households could form an extended bubble.
17 August – The Welsh Government announced that A Level and GCSE results in Wales would now be based on teachers' assessments, after concerns about the previous grading system.
21 August – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that small outdoor events with audiences would be tried out.
26 August – The Welsh Government said that individual schools and local councils would decide if face coverings were required for secondary school pupils.
28 August – Indoor visits to care homes were allowed again.
30 August – Passengers on a flight from Zante to Cardiff were told to self-isolate after someone on board tested positive for COVID-19.

September 2020

1 September – Travellers arriving in Wales from Zante were asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
3 September – Wales removed Portugal and several Greek islands from its list of countries where travellers did not need to quarantine. This was the first time Wales set different quarantine rules from the UK government.
7 September – Residents of Caerphilly County Borough Council were put under the first local lockdown in Wales. People had to wear face coverings indoors, extended household arrangements ended, and travel outside Caerphilly was restricted.
11 September – The Welsh Government announced that wearing face coverings in shops and other indoor public spaces would become compulsory from 14 September. Indoor meetings of more than six people were also banned.
14 September – Public Health Wales said that the details of 18,000 people who tested positive for COVID-19 were accidentally published online.
16 September – Rhondda Cynon Taf was placed under lockdown restrictions. People could not leave the area without a good reason, and pubs had to close at 11pm.
21 September – Lockdown rules were announced for Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent, and Newport.
22 September – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced new rules for all of Wales. Pubs, restaurants, and bars had to close at 10pm from 24 September and offer table service only.
24 September – The NHS contact-tracing app was made available for download in England and Wales.
25 September – Lockdown rules were introduced for Llanelli, Cardiff, and Swansea.
27 September – Lockdown rules were announced for Neath Port Talbot, Torfaen, and Vale of Glamorgan. This meant two-thirds of Wales's population were now under lockdown.
29 September – Lockdown rules were announced for Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, and Wrexham. First Minister Mark Drakeford asked Prime Minister Boris Johnson to stop people from locked-down areas of England from travelling to Wales for holidays.
30 September – Surgery was temporarily stopped at Royal Glamorgan Hospital due to many COVID cases there.

October 2020

1 October – Businesses in areas going into lockdown worried about job losses.
2 October – The Welsh Government announced that people living alone in locked-down areas could meet one other household indoors. Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not agree to stop people from English COVID-19 hotspots from travelling to Wales.
5 October – Wales's Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton, warned people to "get ready" for more local lockdowns over the winter.
7 October – Many deaths from COVID-19 were linked to outbreaks in three hospitals.
9 October – Lockdown rules were announced for Bangor.
11 October – First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales was "close to a tipping point" as cases rose quickly.
12 October – Health Minister Vaughan Gething warned that Wales might need a new national lockdown.
14 October – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced plans to ban visitors to Wales from other parts of the UK with high COVID-19 rates.
16 October – Wales introduced a travel ban on people from COVID hotspots in other parts of the UK.
19 October – The Welsh Government announced a "short, sharp" lockdown, called a "firebreak," from 23 October to 9 November. Pubs, restaurants, and hotels would close, and people would be told to stay at home. Schools would return on 2 November for younger pupils.
22 October – Supermarkets were told they could only sell "essential items" during the firebreak lockdown.
23 October – Wales began its 17-day firebreak lockdown.
24 October – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that the ban on selling non-essential items would be reviewed after many people signed a petition against it.
26 October – Tesco apologised after telling a customer she could not buy sanitary products. Health Minister Vaughan Gething said this was wrong, and retailers could use their "discretion" for essential items.
28 October – First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed that non-essential shops, pubs, restaurants, cafes, gyms, and leisure centres would reopen when the firebreak lockdown ended.
30 October – First Minister Mark Drakeford said there would be national rules instead of local lockdowns when the firebreak ended.
31 October – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that the firebreak lockdown would end on 9 November, regardless of England's lockdown.

November 2020

2 November – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that two households could form a support bubble after the firebreak. Travel within Wales would be allowed, but not outside the country.
3 November – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that groups of four people from different households could meet in pubs, bars, and restaurants after the firebreak.
5 November – Figures showed that over half of Welsh schools had reported a COVID case.
7 November – The number of COVID-related deaths in Wales passed 2,000.
9 November – Wales's 17-day firebreak lockdown ended. Non-essential shops, restaurants, pubs, and gyms reopened. Two households could form a bubble, and four people from different households could meet. Travel was allowed anywhere within Wales.
10 November – GCSE, AS, and A Level exams for summer 2021 were cancelled. Grades would be based on classroom assessments.
11 November – Students in Wales wanting to go home for Christmas were told to travel before 9 December. They would be offered rapid COVID tests.
12 November – Figures showed that over 1,500 people were in hospital in Wales with COVID-19.
16 November – The Deeside Rainbow Hospital, built to increase hospital capacity, admitted its first patients.
18 November – Merthyr Tydfil became the first area in Wales to offer everyone living and working there a COVID test.
23 November – The Welsh Government suggested that face coverings should be worn in all secondary schools in Wales, except in classrooms.
27 November – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced tougher COVID rules for pubs, restaurants, and bars before Christmas, starting 4 December.
30 November – First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that pubs, restaurants, and cafes would not be allowed to sell alcohol from 4 December and must close at 6pm.

December 2020

1 December – Brains, a large Welsh brewery, announced the closure of 100 pubs due to the new rules.
2 December – Following the UK's approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, Wales's chief medical officer, Frank Atherton, discussed challenges with storing the vaccine for care home residents.
3 December – The Welsh Government announced that travel would be allowed between Wales and parts of England and Scotland with lower COVID rates from 4 December.
4 December – The alcohol ban for the hospitality sector began at 6pm. First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that the first COVID vaccinations would start on 8 December.
8 December – Health and care workers became the first people in Wales to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine.
9 December – Wales's Chief Medical Officer advised households not to mix unless necessary before Christmas.
10 December – Education Minister Kirsty Williams announced that all secondary schools and colleges would move to online teaching from 14 December.
11 December – First Minister Mark Drakeford warned that a post-Christmas lockdown would happen if COVID cases did not fall.
12 December – The number of positive COVID tests in Wales passed 100,000.
16 December – The Welsh Government announced its own rules for Christmas. Only two households, plus a single person living alone, would be allowed to meet between 23 and 27 December. First Minister Mark Drakeford announced a new lockdown for Wales, starting 28 December. Non-essential shops and close contact services would close on Christmas Eve, and pubs and restaurants would close from 6pm on Christmas Day.
17 December – School pupils in Wales would have a staggered return to school after Christmas, with some online learning first.
18 December – The number of people in hospital with COVID reached its highest level in Wales. The number of recorded COVID deaths passed 3,000.
19 December – Following talks about a new strain of COVID-19, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced that all of Wales would go into lockdown from midnight, and Christmas plans were changed for everyone except on Christmas Day itself.
20 December – Health Minister Vaughan Gething suggested there could be a spike in COVID cases after Christmas, and that the new variant of COVID was present across Wales.
26 December – Wales entered lockdown after rules were briefly relaxed for Christmas Day.
29 December – Police turned away visitors to the Brecon Beacons, some from far away.
30 December – Following the UK approval of the Oxford vaccine, the Welsh Government announced that people would start receiving it the following week.
31 December – The Welsh Government confirmed a flexible plan for schools to return in January 2021, with some returning fully by 6 January and others by 11 January.