500 cases at the agency. a report produced by the welsh government's technical advisory cell warns wales could face an "exponential growth" of covid cases if lockdown measures are eased too quickly, and recommends keeping restrictions at level alert three until june. 12 march – first minister mark drakeford announces an easing of lockdown restrictions, with four people from two separate households allowed to meet up outdoors from the following day and a replacement of the stay at home order with a stay local order, along with the reopening of hairdressers from monday 15 march. primary school children and those in secondary qualification years will also return to face-to-face lessons from 15 march. further easing of measures will see garden centres reopen from 22 march, self-contained holiday accommodation reopening from 27 march and non-essential retail reopening from 12 april. however, although self-contained tourism is allowed to reopen, drakeford warns that future reopenings will be halted if tourist operators are found to be booking reservations from people living outside wales. a vigil planned for the following day to honour london woman sarah everard, whose remains were found in woodland in ashford, kent, is moved online because of concerns about its legality as a public gathering during the covid-19 pandemic, but a vigil planned for carmarthen will still go ahead. 14 march – health minister vaughan gething receives his first covid vaccination, and urges members of the bame community to get vaccinated. 15 march – a demonstration is held outside a cardiff police station following the death of sarah everard which is attended by several hundred; protestors also gather to demonstrate on other issues, including black lives matter. hospital admissions are at their lowest point of the pandemic, with an average of 37 per day in the week ending 14 march; the figure is lower than august 2020. betsi cadwaladr health board confirms that of 39 patients being treated for covid-19 at ysbyty gwynedd in bangor, 17 have caught it while in hospital. 17 march – the welsh government announces that the 222,000 healthcare workers within nhs wales will receive a one-off payment amounting to £735 which, after tax and national insurance deductions will see them receive £500 in their bank accounts. the british medical association has warned that many healthcare staff are not getting the lateral flow covid tests they were promised a year ago. 18 march – wales will receive 250,000 fewer vaccines over the next month due to a reduced supply of uk vaccines. data shows that flu infections have experienced a "remarkable" suppression, with 18 cases recorded in wales over the winter. 19 march – rugby fans are warned to stay at home to watch wales's 2021 six nations championship match against france, scheduled for the next day, and in which wales will bid to secure a grand slam. residents of holyhead and holy island are warned against all but essential travel as the area experiences a covid flare up. case rates in the area are at 503.8 per 100,000, compared to 127.1 for the whole of anglesey and 44 for wales as a whole. 21 march – first minister mark drakeford has described england's roadmap to exiting lockdown restrictions as being "at the very optimistic end of the spectrum" and says he does not believe wales will return to normal in 2021. 22 march – garden centres are permitted to reopen, while supermarkets can once again sell non-essential items. 23 march – pam kelly, chief constable of gwent police, calls for frontline police officers to be prioritised for the covid vaccine. the welsh government in response says there is insufficient evidence to support vaccination by occupation. qualifications wales says there will be differences to secondary school assessments in 2022, but hopes that public examinations will go ahead. 24 march – extra covid tests are being deployed in holyhead amid a "concerning" rise in positive cases. statistics published by hm treasury suggest the pandemic has widened financial inequality in wales. 27 march – wales becomes the first uk nation to lift travel restrictions within its borders as the "stay local" rule is ended. self-contained tourist accommodation, such as cottages and some hotels, is also permitted to reopen. data from the nhs wales shared services partnership shows an average of 14 million items of ppe have been delivered to health care providers each week since may 2020. 28 march – andrew evans, wales's chief pharmacist, says that second vaccinations will be prioritised during april as a result of a slowdown in supplies of the oxford–astrazeneca vaccine. 29 march – as figures from cardiff city council indicate homelessness in cardiff has been reduced by 90% on its pre-pandemic levels, homeless charity crisis calls for efforts to keep people off the streets. the welsh government gives golfers at llanymynech golf club, whose course is in both england and wales, permission to cross the border while playing a round of golf. the club had previously advised people from england could be fined if they crossed the border into wales while playing a round of golf. 30 march – headteachers and teaching unions have expressed their concern that too much pressure may be placed on pupils because of teacher-based assessments as schools attempt to justify grades. the welsh government has launched an inquiry after figures revealed a large number of people have not turned up for vaccine appointments, and urges people to attend the appointments when they are called. the volume of no-shows is subsequently attributed to invitation letters arriving too late and the difficulty associated with trying to cancel or rearrange appointments. no further covid deaths are recorded for the most recent 24 hour period. office for national statistics figures show the number of covid-related deaths in wales has fallen for a ninth successive week, with 49 deaths in the week ending 26 march. 31 march – nhs wales research suggests that many of the technical innovations that were deployed during the pandemic, such as videoconferencing and patient apps, may help to shape the future direction of the health service. south wales police warn the public against illegal gatherings after a large crowd was dispersed in the cardiff bay area the previous day. south wales police report that three officers were injured when people began throwing missiles, while two arrests were made. april 2021 1 april – first minister mark drakeford says that wales is set to become the first uk nation to offer all nine top priority groups a first covid vaccine, and is on track to do so by easter sunday (4 april). ceredigion achieves the lowest number of covid cases of any mainland uk county, with three positive cases in the preceding week. a spike in covid cases in the clase area of swansea has been linked to people attending parties and visiting each other at home. 2 april – large crowds gather in cardiff bay for the second time in under a week in spite of remaining covid restrictions. good weather results in an influx of visitors to wales's beauty spots. 3 april – police officers are given powers to prohibit people from the cardiff bay area following recent large gatherings there. 4 april – the nasuwt calls for the welsh government to delay planned changes to the school curriculum scheduled for 2022 to allow teachers to help pupils catch up with work missed because of the pandemic. 5 april – the latest figures from public health wales show that 1,490,372 people have received their first covid vaccine, and 467,683 their second, while first minister mark drakeford confirms that wales has hit its target of offering a vaccine to all nine of the top priority groups. this claim is subsequently disputed the following day by people in the priority groups who say they are yet to be contacted. 6 april – staff at the dvla in swansea begin a four-day strike over concerns about covid safety at the agency. 7 april – elle taylor, 24, from ammanford becomes the first person in the uk to receive the moderna covid-19 vaccine at glangwili hospital in carmarthen, as rollout of the third covid vaccine to be approved for use in the uk begins. aberystwyth university becomes the latest university in wales to take the decision not to hold graduation ceremonies in summer 2021 because of covid. 8 april – the welsh government moves the easing of some lockdown measures forward by a week due to a drop in covid cases. consequently, outdoor weddings involving up to 30 people will be allowed from 26 april rather than 3 may, while the reopening of gyms and leisure centres is moved forward from 10 may to 3 may. two households will also be able to form an extended bubble from 3 may, this also having been moved forward a week. dr richard roberts, head of wales's vaccination rollout, confirms one person in wales has developed a rare blood clot following administration of the oxford–astrazeneca vaccine. 10 april – data from public health wales indicates that bridgend, which at the peak of the pandemic had a case rate of 1,118.7 per 100,000 (the highest in the uk) now has one of the lowest case rates for the preceding week, with 4.1 cases per 100,000. a group of 300 protestors gather in cardiff to call for gyms in wales to be reopened on 12 april; they are scheduled to open on 3 may. 12 april – non-essential retail and close contact services are allowed to resume, while people from wales are allowed to travel to other parts of the uk. figures from public health wales show hospital admissions from covid-19 have hit an all-time low, with a daily average of 18 over the seven days up to 11 april. 14 april – the welsh government announces that anyone in wales who cannot work remotely will be entitled to free lateral flow tests from friday 16 april. staff from a surgery in tenby travel to caldey island off the pembrokeshire coast to vaccinate monks at a cistercian monastery. bollards and rubber kerbs installed in the north wales town of llangollen to help people with social distancing are to be removed after being described as a "death trap" because multiple people have tripped or fallen over them. 15 april – with wales yet to set a reopening date for indoor activities for children, those running businesses for parenting groups say they have been forgotten and urge the welsh government to give them clarity on when they can resume. 16 april – health officials urge women not to stop taking the pill following reports of an increased risk of blood clots from the oxford–astrazeneca vaccine. leaders of wales's tourism taskforce have called on the welsh government to bring forward the date for reopening indoor hospitality to 17 may, matching it with england and scotland. 18 april – the island of caldey will reopen to tourists from 1 may, it is confirmed. leading doctors say that rebuilding the nhs after the covid-19 pandemic could be a bigger challenge than dealing with the pandemic itself. 19 april – first minister mark drakeford announces the further easing of covid rules, allowing six people from six separate households to meet up outdoors from saturday 24 april, and outdoor hospitality from monday 26 april. 20 april – figures published by public health wales indicate that vaccine uptake among black, asian and other ethnic minority groups is 10% lower than in white communities, though the gap has narrowed slightly since february. 21 april – first minister mark drakeford is criticised by opposition politicians for "completely inappropriate" behaviour after indicating his intention to use a government press conference to outline how covid restrictions will be further eased if welsh labour wins the 2021 senedd election. health officials are working with a cupcake factory based in bala, gwynedd, after 42 members of its production staff tested positive for covid-19. 22 april – first minister mark drakeford confirms indoor hospitality will reopen on 17 may, while indoor activities for children such as soft play and swimming lessons are brought forward to 3 may. up to 15 adults can also meet for indoor activities from 3 may. data published by stats wales shows nhs wales has a waiting list backlog of more than half a million.