used to" providing nothing unexpected happens. aneurin bevan health board, which is struggling to cope because of covid, suspends its midwifery services at four hospitals and redirects expectant mothers to cwmbran's grange hospital. 10 october – after an excess of 10,000 covid infections were reported in schools in wales during september, the naht cymru teaching union describes the new system for dealing with covid in schools as having failed. first minister mark drakeford says it is "not acceptable" for anti-vaxers to intimidate people outside vaccination centres following an incident the previous day. 12 october – health minister eluned morgan apologises for mistakes made by the welsh government during their response to the early stages of the pandemic. 13 october – dr andrew goodall, chief executive of nhs wales, says the health service in wales is facing its "most challenging period" of the pandemic as the ongoing presence of covid continues to impact on its ability to deal with the backlog of patients. 17 october – an independent adjudicator upholds a complaint by 13 university of wales trinity st david students after the university incorrectly claimed course changes were as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, and recommends student fees are repaid. the south wales derby between swansea and cardiff city takes place, and is the first to be attended by spectators since january 2020. 19 october – the latest weekly covid figures from the office for national statistics show 81 deaths in wales, a rise of 17 on the previous week, but deaths are much lower than in the first and second waves. hospital admissions are also shown to have increased, but are also lower than in previous peaks. 20 october – dr andrew goodall, chief executive of nhs wales, says the nhs in wales is under the most intense pressure in its history as it prepares for winter. 21 october – statistics show the nhs in wales has recorded its worst ever performance figures, with a tenfold increase in the number of people waiting more than nine months for treatment; around 25,000 people were waiting for treatment before the pandemic compared to the latest figures which show 250,000 are waiting. as england prepares to change the rules surrounding pcr tests to allow fully vaccinated travellers returning from abroad to take a lateral flow test instead, the welsh conservatives call for clarity from the welsh government as to whether they intend to keep or change their own rules. 22 october – dr roland salmon, former director of communicable diseases for public health wales, says he believes lockdown restrictions are only "at best marginally" beneficial for stopping the spread of covid, and should not return over the coming winter to protect nhs wales. instead he says that efforts should be focused on vaccinating those most at risk. health minister eluned morgan confirms fully vaccinated travellers returning to wales from overseas will no longer need to take a pcr test from 31 october, bringing wales in line with rule changes in england. instead they will need a lateral flow test within two days of their return. 25 october – wales's chief medical officer, dr frank atherton, expresses his concern about people behaving as though the pandemic is over by not wearing face coverings and ignoring social distancing rules. 26 october – data published by public health wales indicates covid cases have continued to increase and hit a new high of 719.9 cases per 100,000 over the past seven days. 29 october – first minister mark drakeford announces new measures to tackle covid in wales, which has the highest rates. the covid pass scheme will be extended to cinemas, theatres and concert halls from 15 november, while anyone living with a person who tests positive for covid will be required to self-isolate until they can obtain a negative pcr test. drakeford says that further measures will be considered if cases remain high. 30 october – wales hosts its first international rugby match with a full capacity crowd since the beginning of the pandemic. the game against new zealand at cardiff's principality stadium is attended by 74,000 spectators, the majority of who are required to present covid passes before entering the stadium. their tickets also include specified arrival times and entrances in order to stagger entries. a display of 6,000 handmade angels have gone on show at st giles' parish church in wrexham to remember those who have died from covid in wales, and will remain in place until january 2022. 31 october – cardiff's castle street reopens to traffic for the first time since july 2020, when it was closed to become an al-fresco dining area during the pandemic. november 2021 2 november – rugby fans are asked to wear face coverings inside the principality stadium for wales's forthcoming match against south africa on 6 november. simon williams, an academic from swansea university subsequently describes the measures as "not effective", as they apply to the stadium concourse and not to individual seats. 3 november – spencer birns, chief executive of cardiff airport, tells a senedd committee passenger levels dropped to those of the 1950s during the pandemic, falling from 1.6m to 48,000. 9 november – the senedd votes 39–15 to extend wales's covid pass scheme from monday 15 november to include cinemas, theatres and concert halls. research by the bbc finds that after regular testing was introduced for frontline hospital staff in december 2020, it took up to three months for healthcare workers at some hospitals to be tested. 10 november – careers wales teams up with speakers for schools to offer work experience to every state school in wales "to help disadvantaged young people catch up post-covid"; many school pupils missed out on work experience during the pandemic. 15 november – covid pass requirements in wales are extended to cinemas, theatres and concert venues. 16 november – transport for wales says "lessons have been learnt" following complaints about overcrowded trains after an international football match between wales and belarus during the previous weekend. many people had complained about feeling unsafe because a number of people were not wearing face coverings. a swansea cinema becomes the first in wales to refuse to implement the covid pass scheme, with its manager describing it as an "infringement of our human rights", "nonsensical" and "unnecessary". 17 november – first minister mark drakeford confirms there will be no changes to covid rules in the latest three-week review. wales remains at alert level zero, but may introduce covid passes for pubs and restaurants to keep them open over christmas. 19 november – anna redfern, owner of swansea-based cinema & co, confirms swansea council has ordered her to close the establishment because she declined to carry out covid pass checks. 22 november – all secondary school pupils in gwynedd are required to wear face coverings in school following a rise in covid cases in the county. 24 november – swansea council announces plans to take swansea-based cinema & co to court after it remained open following an order to close over its refusal to check customers for their covid status. 25 november – cinema & co owner anna redfern fails to attend swansea magistrates' court for the case brought against her by swansea council for refusing to implement covid pass checks at her premises. 26 november – the welsh government orders the immediate closure of cinema & co. 27 november – wales reintroduces the requirement for all travellers arriving from abroad to take a pcr test following the discovery of two cases of the omicron covid variant in the uk. 28 november – cardiff rugby club's plans to fly out to south africa for a match are cancelled after two of their team test positive for covid. 29 november – first minister mark drakeford announces changes to covid rules for secondary schools, requiring pupils to wear face coverings in classrooms. the changes go further than england, where they are only required in communal areas. drakeford also urges people to "think carefully" about meeting vulnerable relatives over christmas. 30 november – prime minister boris johnson tells first minister mark drakeford that whoever leads a uk-wide covid inquiry will want the investigation to be "visible and properly accessible to the people of wales". at a court hearing in swansea, anna redfern, owner of cinema & co is ordered to close the business by a district judge for refusing to implement covid passport checks. she is also fined £5,265 in costs. health minister eluned morgan becomes the latest senior politician in wales to urge people to exercise caution when socialising over christmas. december 2021 1 december – swansea's cinema & co reopens a day after being ordered to close by a district judge following its owners refusal to implement covid pass regulations. leading dentist dr russell gidney warns wales may never catch up with the backlog of missed dental appointments caused by the pandemic, saying that none of his 6,000 patients have had a routine check-up in the past year. 2 december – the welsh tourism sector fears another raft of restrictions over christmas following the onset of the omicron covid variant. 3 december – swansea council is looking into whether cinema & co may have to pay back some of the £53,000 it received in covid grants. the first case of omicron variant covid is identified in wales. 4 december – first minister mark drakeford says that a decision on whether to extend the covid pass scheme to pubs and restaurants will be made at the "last minute". 5 december – transport for wales has said its trains are "fundamentally safe" following complaints of overcrowding during the pandemic. 6 december – health minister eluned morgan announces that all adults in wales will be offered a booster vaccination by the end of january, with plans to open more vaccination centres to facilitate this. 7 december – first minister mark drakeford says that wales stands on the brink of "another potentially perilous moment" ahead of an expected "formidable wave" of omicron cases, which are expected to peak in january. 9 december – fourteen schools in wales are to trial longer school days, with an extra hour added each day, as a way of helping pupils to catch up with missed work. the welsh government urges everyone to take a lateral flow test before going out to places like the shops, the pub or to see others. 10 december – first minister mark drakeford announces covid rules will be reviewed on a weekly basis in response to the emergence of the omicron variant. swansea council confirms it has bolted down the shutters to cinema & co and plans to initiate contempt of court proceedings against its owner, anna redfern. 11 december – nhs bosses in cardiff have said they would discourage people from attending christmas parties in order to relieve pressure on the nhs. 12 december – health minister eluned morgan warns fresh restrictions are likely "in the next few weeks". 13 december – first minister mark drakeford confirms that all adults over the age of 18 in wales will be offered their booster vaccine by the end of the year. school pupils in anglesey and denbighshire will move to remote learning from the coming weekend, it is confirmed. 14 december – a difference emerges between vaccinations in england and wales, with wales choosing not to operate vaccination centres, but instead to contact people individually. health minister eluned morgan says she does not want to "cancel" christmas, but that tougher measures cannot be ruled out over the festive period. anna redfern, owner of swansea-based cinema & co is given a suspended 26-day prison sentence and fined £15,000 for contempt of court by the city's magistrates following her refusal to implement covid pass checks at her premises. 15 december – data obtained by bbc news suggests 600 children and teenagers were admitted to hospital in wales with covid in 2021. 16 december – first minister mark drakeford announces the closure of nightclubs in wales from 27 december as a result of the spread of the omicron variant. education minister jeremy miles confirms that schools will restart two days later in january to give them time to plan for the return of pupils to the classroom or switch to remote learning. 17 december –