Will Wales need to go back into lockdown?

That was the question put to First Minister Mark Drakeford at Friday's coronavirus update briefing where he said the Delta variant was now the dominant form in Wales and that it is inevitable that cases will continue to rise.

Scientific advisers in Wales believe that the UK is at the “pre-peak stage of a third wave”.

The Welsh Labour leader warned the risk of mutations developing which vaccinations are less effective against means “it simply doesn’t make sense” to rule out reimposing the highest level of restrictions.

The Delta variant first identified in India is now the dominant strain of Covid-19 among new infections in Wales, with most cases attributed to person-to-person transmission in the community as opposed to international travel into the country.

Mr Drakeford is delaying the further easing of Wales’s Covid restrictions for four weeks in response to a spike in cases of the variant to see if they lead to increased pressure on the NHS.

Asked if he can rule out a future lockdown if the situation in Wales worsens later in the year, in the conference, he said: “I’m not willing to say that it is completely inconceivable. I think it is highly unlikely.

“The position today is very different to when we started to unlock things after the Christmas and new year period. All our schools are open, all our shops are open, you can travel anywhere in Wales, you can go for a drink, you can go for a meal, you can be down the caravan.

“When we spoke to focus groups earlier this week, what most people told us is that most of the things that they wanted to do, they are now able to do. What they are most anxious about is not losing the ground that we have gained.

“A pause now is an important move to help us to do just that. Not to add more risk into what are now inherently more risky circumstances because of the Delta variant, and therefore add to the risk that we would have to move back from the level of easements we currently have.

“We are very, very focused on not needing to do that.

“Can I say it’s absolutely impossible (to rule out a lockdown), given the changes that we see, given the risk that another new variant could arise at any time anywhere in the world that might be even less amenable to the current vaccination."

He added that the next four week period was crucial.

Referring to the ongoing vaccination programme, he added that "we will use the next four weeks to do everything we can to prevent that from happening".

"We are nowhere near any need to reduce the relaxations we have been able to build up.

"We are pausing [the introduction of more easing] so as not to increase risk.

"Because we don't want to add fresh risk into what has become a more risky context.

"Things are very different this time to the way they were back in March of last year, and over the Christmas and New Year period, primarily because of vaccination.

"We are not clear about the full extent to which vaccination has altered the link between falling ill with coronavirus and needing hospital treatment.

"That will become clearer over the next four weeks.

"The more people we can vaccinate, the stronger the defence will be, and the more certain we will become that we don't need to put anything in reverse and indeed, will be able to move even further forward."

Mr Drakeford told the press conference that eight out of 10 new cases of coronavirus in Wales are believed to be from the Delta variant.

“In just a few weeks, the Delta variant has entered Wales and spread quickly throughout the country,” Mr Drakeford said.

“There is a sustained and accelerating pattern of transmission, not just in the north and south-east of Wales but in all parts of the country.

“That means that we are, once again, facing a serious public health situation. Our scientific advisers believe that the United Kingdom is now at the pre-peak stage of a third wave of this pandemic.

“Wales may be two to three weeks behind what is happening in England and in Scotland, where tens of thousands of cases have been confirmed, where there is widespread transmission and reports of increased hospital admissions as well.”