Shaggy-haired Welshmen and women can have their wayward locks trimmed professionally from today as the country opens its hairdressers and barbers for the first time in 2021.
The Welsh Government has lifted its rules banning salon haircuts for the first time since before Christmas in a move that will bring relief to millions.
The move comes almost a month before hairdressers in England are allowed to pick up their scissors again from April 12.
It came as ministers were accused of ‘moving the goalposts’ over Boris Johnson’s lockdown roadmap and creating uncertainty.
They were urged by MPs to stick to Boris Johnson’s ‘data not dates’ pledge and publish target figures for when restrictions could be eased.
Business leaders warned more than 3,500 pubs, bars and restaurants face permanent closure if they are not allowed to open fully before May 17.
Other figures showed 17,500 shops which were part of big chains closed last year as the pandemic ravaged high streets.
Shaggy: Barbers and hairdressers in England cannot open until April 12.
Hairdressers reopened today in Wales, including this salon in Cardiff.
Welsh Government regulations say that hairdressers can only serve customers with an appointment, and that their services will be restricted to haircuts only.
Welsh Government regulations say that hairdressers can only serve customers with an appointment, and that their services will be restricted to haircuts only.
Monday will also see Welsh primary school pupils return to classrooms for the first time this year, joining those in foundation years who returned last month, while face-to-face teaching will also resume for learners in years 11 and 13.
Teachers can also invite learners in years 10 and 12 back to school in order to support their learning, while all other years will be allowed to ‘check in’ with teachers on a limited number of days before a full school return from April 12.
Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething told Sky News today that the changes had been made possible by the vaccine, which has brought cases to below 40 per 100,000 people.
Our message to the public is that we want to see these easements made as quickly and as safely as possible,’ he added.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said on Friday that hairdressing businesses would be allowed to reopen because they have ‘gone through everything that is needed in order to operate safely’.
It comes after Wales’ ‘stay-at-home’ restrictions were lifted on Saturday, as the country moved to a ‘stay local’ period, with travel restrictions expected to be eased further in time for Easter.
Wales’ seven-day case rate on Sunday stood at 39 cases per 100,000 people, the lowest of any country in the United Kingdom.
Public Health Wales said a total of 1,113,498 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had been given, an increase of 29,169 from the previous day, while 257,398 second doses were also given, an increase of 7,372.
There were a further 217 confirmed cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 206,405, while 10 further deaths took the total in the country since the start of the pandemic to 5,452.
In England, it is planned to end lockdown in stages, with all restrictions lifted by June 21. Key dates include March 29, when people will be allowed to meet outside in a limited way and outdoor sports facilities will reopen.
From April 12, all shops will be allowed to open and members of the same household can take a holiday in the UK in self-contained accommodation. From May 17, people can meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors and pubs and restaurants can seat customers indoors.
But MPs on the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee (PACAC) accused the Government of a lack of transparency.
They urged ministers to update the Prime Minister’s lockdown roadmap by adding data showing what targets need to be met to lift each set of restrictions.
They said in a report: ‘The framework for lockdown and tiering decisions has changed repeatedly throughout this pandemic.
‘While the committee does not object to the inclusion of new metrics (such as vaccines), changes in the framework to date have not always appeared to reflect new information. This has amounted to a moving of the goalposts, which creates uncertainty, makes it impossible to see trends and therefore must stop.’
It came as business leaders warned more than 3,500 pubs, bars and restaurants face permanent closure if they are not allowed to open fully before May 17
Other figures showed 17,500 shops which were part of big chains closed last year as the pandemic ravaged high streets
Meanwhile, business leaders warned huge numbers of pubs and restaurants face permanent closure if the indoor reopening date of May 17 is not brought forward. They said businesses will have been shut with close to no revenue for nearly five months.
Thirty venues have closed every day since the beginning of the pandemic last year, but the figure has soared to 56 in the current lockdown, according to analysis by management consultants AlixPartners and data experts CGA.
If businesses continue to shut at the same rate, 3,528 more venues will be forced to close by May 17. The hospitality industry says it has shed 660,000 jobs since the start of the pandemic and lost £71.8billion of sales in 2020.
Kate Nicholls, of UK Hospitality, said: ‘The rate of licensed venue closures, and consequent livelihoods destroyed, is staggering.’ She insisted: ‘Having to wait until May seems an unnecessary delay that could jeopardise thousands more jobs and businesses.’
Alex Reilley, of the Loungers restaurant group, said: ‘Between now and the May 17, we will continue to see good, previously viable, hospitality businesses failing at a devastating rate through absolutely no fault of their own.’
Two bosses are threatening the Government with action in the High Court if it does not move the reopening date to April 12.
Sacha Lord, of the Warehouse Project and Manchester’s nightlife tsar, and Hugh Osmond, of Punch Taverns, wrote to Mr Johnson to say there is ‘no evidence or justification’ for opening non-essential retail before hospitality.
Research yesterday showed that more than 17,500 chain shops closed last year – 48 per day. Even after new openings are factored in, the number of stores fell by nearly 9,900, said researchers at PwC and the Local Data Company. Chains to collapse included Debenhams.