Wales’ Firebreak Lockdown: what does it mean for our guests?

During a time of national restrictions, Wales’ First Minister, Mark Drakeford, has taken a bold step towards protecting the Welsh people.  Of course, you’ve heard about it, it’s been all over every UK news channel and has even gained US reporters’ interest. 

What does this current firebreak situation entail?

The firebreak lockdown is a two-week (or 17 days, to be precise) “short, sharp firebreak” designed to help regain control over the health of Welsh people.  It began on Friday the 23^rd of October and will last until Monday the 9^th of November. 

What happens during this firebreak period?

This essentially means that for 17 days, Wales is closed to visitors.  This also means that hospitality and tourism businesses like Newgale Holidays will not be open; neither will restaurants who aren’t serving takeaways, pus, hairdressers, hotels, libraries or recycling centres.

Actually, it means a lot more than that for the people of Wales; we’re returning to a state similar to the national lockdown in the Spring.  The people of Wales must stay at home except for the limited purposes of shopping for essential items, a short period of exercise or to offer care for those living alone.

What does this ‘Firebreak fortnight’ mean for our guests?

It’s not a situation we thought we’d find ourselves in during October half term, but it does mean that during the 23^rd to the 9^th November, Newgale Holidays will be adhering to Welsh Government regulations and we will be closed for the firebreak period. 

We understand that this is not ideal, however, we want to keep our guests and our staff safe.  The lower the cases remain in Wales, and the faster we deal with what is a sharp rise in cases here, the sooner lockdowns here and across the UK will end. 

Pembrokeshire’s Coronavirus cases are low – why are you in lockdown?

While we’ve been extremely lucky over the entirety of this pandemic period and the cases and death rate have been low across West Wales, the R rate across Wales is slowly increasing.  We believe that the Welsh Government is protecting areas like Pembrokeshire from spiking by urging us not to allow people from COVID-19 hotspots into our area.  This may seem a little harsh, but we see it as a great opportunity to be able to safely welcome you all back to a safer, more organised environment post-lockdown.

When can we stay at Newgale Holidays again?

We’ll be closely monitoring all information regarding the Welsh and National restrictions and ever-changing guidelines and will be updating our clients regularly during these unpredictable times.  We ask that you bear with us so that we can always ensure that we’re doing the right thing for us all.

For any enquiries regarding existing bookings then please feel free to contact us at stay@newgaleholidays.co.uk, and for further updates on Coronavirus in Wales that may affect your holiday with us, please keep checking our News page or follow us on Facebook.

Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you very soon!