The Welsh Government is using a ‘traffic light’ system to spell out what people can and cannot do under lockdown during the Covid 19 pandemic.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has outlined the rules in a statement.

He said: ‘‘The restrictions currently in place are there for the express purpose of protecting our health and controlling the spread of coronavirus. The law we have made in Wales requires those restrictions to be kept under review to ensure they are proportionate to what we are seeking to achieve by them.

‘‘When they are no longer proportionate, we must amend or withdraw them.

‘‘This is fundamental to our plans for exiting the current restrictions – our actions will be firmly based on our understanding of the health risks that the virus presents.

‘‘We will ease or amend the restrictions that we have put in place when, and only when, we are satisfied that any change will not threaten public health and we will not maintain any restrictions when there is no public health case for doing so.’’

Covid-19 is spread by social interaction and the effects of meeting other people.

Where two people from different households meet and both otherwise live and work on their own, then the risk is low. As numbers of contacts grow so do the risks of creating chains of transmission and outbreaks. Without a vaccine the chance of passing the virus from household to household or setting to setting will exist.

As Wales moves out of lockdown, everyone will need to ‘ration’ the amount of social contact they each have, and also need to recognise that social distancing will be most difficult with those we are emotionally closest too – our parents, children, grandchildren and friends.

The traffic light system is applied to several scenarios including one for education and care for children as follows:

Lockdown: Closed except to key workers and vulnerable children. Outreach services in place.

Red: No change, but able to manage increase in demand from children already eligible to attend schools and childcare.

Amber: Priority groups of pupils to return to school in a phased approach. Increased numbers of children in childcare.

Green: All children and students able to access education. All children able to access childcare.

Seeing family and friends

Lockdown:Stay at home and contact only within households (limited exceptions).

Red: Seeing one person from outside your household to provide or receive care or support whilst maintaining appropriate social distancing.

Amber: Taking exercise with one other person or small group whilst maintaining appropriate social distancing.

Green: Meeting one other person or small group to socialise whilst maintaining appropriate social distancing.

Getting around

Lockdown:Leave the house for essential travel only.

Red: Local travel, including for click and collect retail. Promote active travel and adapt public transport for physical distancing. Allow outdoor leisure and recreation.

Amber: Travel for leisure, access non-essential retail and services, and more people travelling to work.

Green: Unrestricted travel subject to ongoing precautions.

Exercise, playing sport and games

Lockdown: Exercise once a day outside of house on own or with household.

Red: Exercise more than once a day and incidental activity locally.

Outdoor sports courts to open. Elite athletes resume some activity.

Amber: Team and individual sports, non-contact sport and games in small groups indoors and outdoors. Some outdoor events with limited capacity and events behind closed doors for broadcast.

Green: All sports, leisure and cultural activities open, with physical distancing. All events resume with limited capacity.

Relaxing and special occasions

Lockdown: Stay at home and only leave the house for essential purposes.

Red: Some opening of outdoor cultural and other sites. Relaxation and leisure outdoors where local.

Amber: More cultural and leisure sites to reopen (e.g. museums and galleries). Weddings and other events with limited capacity and physical distancing.

Green: All special occasions and cultural and leisure activities permitted with precautions in place.

Working or running a business

Lockdown: Work from home if possible. List of businesses required to close.

2m requirement in workplaces where not possible to work from home.

Red: More outdoor work and click-and-collect retail. Businesses Red not required to close (e.g. construction) reopening under safe working practices.

Amber: Non-essential retail to reopen with physical distancing.

Trial some personal services under appointment (e.g. hairdressers). Accommodation businesses open without shared facilities.

Green: Restaurants, pubs and customer contact industries under physical distancing. All businesses and workplaces open under new protocols.

Going shopping

Lockdown: Essential retail only face-to-face.

Red: Include click-and-collect for non-essential retail.

Begin making adaptations to public realm (e.g. town centres).

Amber: Can access most non-essential retail where adaptations are possible to maintain physical distancing. Town centres and high streets adapted to facilitate shopping and accessing services under physical distancing.

Green: Able to access all retail and leisure facilities whilst taking reasonable precautions.

Using public services

Lockdown: Access to emergency or essential services only.

Red: Increase the availability of public services gradually (e.g. waste and recycling, libraries). Increase scope of essential health and social care services.

Amber: Continue to increase the availability of public services. Increase access to non-essential health and care services (e.g. elective surgery, dentistry).

Green: Access to all normal public, health and social care services under physical distancing where possible or precautions in other settings.

Practicing faith

Lockdown: Closure of places of worship, with exceptions for funerals and cremations.

Red: Opening of places of worship for private prayer under physical distancing.

Amber: Limit services and size of congregations linked to ability to ensure physical distancing.

Green: All places open with full range of services, alongside physical distancing.

These rules are under constant review.