Covid passes are being scrapped in Wales, and within weeks people will no longer need to wear masks in most indoor public places.
The latest review of the Covid rules for Wales has been carried out by Welsh Government. The cabinet met for the final time on Thursday morning to decide on what further measures could be relaxed.
Covid passes will no longer be required from next Friday, February 18. And ten days later, from February 28, people will no longer need to wear face coverings in all indoor places. However masks will still be required in shops, health and care facilities and public transport. If cases continue to fall, the Welsh Government hopes to lift all masks rules by the end of March.
Schools will be able to make their own decisions on facemasks from February 28.
Read more: Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has tested positive for Covid
The data shows that levels of infection have recently fallen, but community transmission rates remain relatively high in all parts of Wales.
The latest infection rate based on PCR tests, for the seven days up to February 5, now stands at 412.9 cases for every 100,000 people – a reduction from the 427.9 recorded on Wednesday.
The infection rate based on PCR tests is only a guide to the spread of Covid in Wales as it does not include lateral flow test results, which are reported weekly in Wales. People with no symptoms who test positive on an LFT no longer need a confirmatory PCR test.
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The latest data on lateral flow tests, published on Thursday for the week to February 6, show there have been a further 18,690 positive test results reported. That's down from 23,066 the previous week. Positivity also decreased from 11.87% to 10.24%. The highest incidence rate was in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area with 680.2 positive tests for every 100,000 people. You can read all that here.
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First Minister Mark Drakeford, who is himself self-isolating having tested positive, said: "With increasing numbers of people vaccinated and boosted and thanks to the hard work and efforts of everyone across Wales, we are confident that coronavirus rates are falling and we can look forward to brighter times ahead.
"We can start to gradually and carefully remove some of the remaining protections we have in place at alert level zero. But we are not removing all the measures at once because the pandemic is not over yet.
"To keep Wales safe we need to remain cautious and do everything we can to reassure those who feel most at risk. We will keep some important protections in place, including face coverings in health and social care settings, on public transport and in all shops. We will also keep self-isolation rules in place.
"Next month, we will publish a plan setting out how we will move beyond alert level zero and the emergency footing on which we have been operating for nearly two years.
"This will help us all to make some plans for the future."
What happens when?
From Friday, February 18, people will no longer need to show Covid passes for entry into indoor or outdoor events and venues, including nightclubs, cinemas, theatres and concert halls. But events and venues will be able to continue to use it if they choose to.
However, the international Covid Pass will be needed depending on which country you are travelling to including any different requirements for children.
From Monday, February 28, you will no longer need to wear a mask inside unless you are in shops, on public transport or in health and care settings.
Welsh Government say if the public health conditions continue to improve, the legal requirement to wear face coverings in all remaining settings could be lifted by the end of March.
Schools will return to using their local decision framework from February 28, and from Friday, February 11 adults can remove their face coverings when they are interacting with babies and small children at baby and toddler groups.
The next review will be on Thursday, March 3 when the remaining measures at alert level zero will be reviewed - that covers businesses having to draw up specific plans and the rules around self-isolation.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced this week that he hopes to bring forward by a month the requirement for people in England who test positive to self-isolate from March 24. An end to mandatory face masks in England came into effect on Thursday, January 27.
Secondary school pupils in Scotland will not need to wear face coverings in classrooms from February 28, it was announced on February 10.
Economy minister Vaughan Gething will stand in for Mark Drakeford at a press conference announcing further details at 12.15pm on Friday.
