Wales to return to tighter hospitality restrictions from Boxing Day: The Welsh government has announced a return to tighter hospitality restrictions from 6am on Boxing Day following a surge in Omicron cases. The new measures will see the rule of six apply to pubs, restaurants, cinemas and theatres, while two-metre social distancing will apply in all public settings. Table service and the collecting of contact details will return to all licensed premises, while face coverings will be required in all hospitality settings apart from when seated. Large events, both indoors and outdoors, will also be banned, with the maximum number of people allowed set at 30 for indoors events and 50 for outdoors. This follows the news last week that Welsh nightclubs would close on Monday (27 December). First minister Mark Drakeford said: “We are facing a very serious situation in Wales. A wave of infections caused by the new, fast-moving and very-infectious omicron variant is headed our way. This new form of coronavirus could infect large numbers of people in Wales, disrupting daily lives and businesses and could cause an increase in the number of people who need hospital care in the coming weeks. We will do everything we can to protect people’s health and livelihoods in Wales – this means taking early action to try and control its spread. We are changing the rules for businesses and some public spaces, where lots of different people mix daily and issuing strong and clear advice to help people stay safe in their own private homes and when meeting others.” There will be £120m made available for nightclubs, retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism businesses – double the new £60m package announced last week. Economy minister Vaughan Gething will announce further details tomorrow (Thursday, 23 December). This follows similar restrictions announced by the Scottish government yesterday (Tuesday, 21 December), while the Northern Ireland government is expected to announce new measures later today (Wednesday, 22 December).