boardmasters festival held in cornwall from 11 to 15 august, which was attended by 50,000 people. cardiff city manager mick mccarthy says he will not force players to have the covid-19 vaccination, even though the club has suffered a number of covid cases during the summer. 23 august – figures released by the office for national statistics indicate covid was the 22nd most common cause of death in wales during july. 24 august – conservative mp david tc davies calls for an investigation into the welsh government's insistence that travellers needing a pcr test use a single and costly nhs provider, contrasting the situation with england where multiple providers are available, allowing people to find the best value tests. figures show the number of covid hospitalisations in wales has increased by 47% over the course of a week, with 195 people in hospital on 23 august. 25 august – the welsh government issues guidelines for the return of schools in september, which include twice-weekly lateral flow tests for secondary pupils, who must also take two tests three days apart in the week prior to returning to school. primary school teachers must also take regular tests. 26 august – first minister mark drakeford confirms there will be no significant changes in wales's latest review of covid restrictions. figures from public health wales show that covid cases in wales are at their highest since january, with the case rate at 334.1 per 100,000, but hospitalisations and deaths remain low. 27 august – eithne hughes, director of the ascl cymru teaching union, criticises the welsh government's covid guidelines for schools as "flabby", "vague in the extreme", and something that would be difficult to interpret. covid outbreaks are reported at two hospitals in north wales – ysbyty gwynedd in bangor, and ysbyty eryri in caernarfon, gwynedd. 28 august – the british dental association has urged the welsh government to change the rules for dental practices to allow more patients to have check-ups amid concerns the current situation could lead to tooth loss among patients. 29 august – figures released by public health wales for 27 august indicate 2,357 new covid cases were recorded for that day, the highest number for wales since 5 january, 2,383 cases were recorded. there were also three deaths on 27 august, compared to 40 on 5 january. 30 august – the welsh government announces a £6million technology fund aimed at stopping the spread of covid-19 in schools, colleges and universities, which will seem them pay for 30,000 carbon dioxide sensors and 1,800 ozone disinfecting machines developed by swansea university. 31 august – dr ami jones, a senior critical care consultant, says misinformation about the covid vaccine has led to an increase in the number of young unvaccinated people in hospital with the illness. comedian jimmy carr gives a performance to the first full capacity indoor audience since march 2020 at cardiff's st david's hall. september 2021 1 september – figures from the office for national statistics show the number of covid-related deaths in wales have passed 8,000, with the latest weekly figures showing 18 deaths which took the total to 8,002. with the welsh government having announced plans to buy ozone machines from swansea university, it now transpires that it has not made a decision on the devices, and is awaiting expert advice. 2 september – figures released for the test, trace, protect contact-tracing system show that less than half of those who test positive for covid are reached within 24 hours. kelechi nnoaham, director of public health at cwm taf morgannwg health board, warns the nhs in wales could face a "very difficult autumn and winter" if covid cases continue to rise. a diary of life at a care home during covid kept by 94-year-old resident bob skinner is published. 3 september – figures from the office for national statistics indicate that covid infections in scotland are at their highest since records began of infections, with one in 75 estimated to have the virus at the end of the previous week, up from one in 140 in the week before. a security glitch that allows people to edit covid vaccine certificates first identified three months ago remains to be fixed, it is reported. 4 september – public health wales believes 71 covid cases are linked to the green man festival that took place in august in the brecon beacons, and which was attended by 25,000 people. 5 september – streets in new quay, aberaeron, aberystwyth, and cardigan that were closed to traffic by ceredigion county council in july 2020 to give pedestrians more space during the pandemic have reopened. 6 september – dr richard stanton, a virologist at cardiff university, has called for all teenagers to be given a covid vaccine in order to prevent the dangers of them developing long covid. 7 september – the uk government announces a new health and social care tax to address the nhs patient backlog and shortfalls in social care; wales will receive an extra £700m a year as a result of the tax. 9 september – the welsh government gives travellers the go-ahead to use private covid tests if they are unable to get government approved ones. cwm taf morgannwg health board bans hospital visitors due to a rise in covid cases in the area. health minister eluned morgan announces a welsh government investigation after two members of care staff at a dementia home in holyhead were allowed to work after testing positive for covid. 10 september – betsi cadwaladr health board cancels some surgical procedures due to a rise in covid cases in hospitals in the area. 11 september – the welsh government confirms that people travelling abroad from wales can use a wider selection of covid tests from 21 september. 13 september – bus company first cymru suspends fifteen of its routes in swansea and neath port talbot due to a driver shortage caused by the dvla backlog that has meant a delay to licence renewals for drivers. 14 september – swansea bay health board calls for secondary schools to reintroduce some covid measures following the rise in covid cases in the area, with pupils encouraged to take twice weekly lateral flow tests, the return of one way systems and the wearing of face coverings in school transport and in schools. 15 september – wales's covid case rate falls for a fourth successive day, and stands at 500.1 per 100,000. owners of care homes have highlighted the difficulty in obtaining insurance against covid, which threatens their closure. 17 september – the welsh government announces the introduction of vaccine passports for nightclubs and large scale events in wales from 11 october. 18 september – professor hugh pennington, who chaired the 2005 inquiry into that year's e.coli outbreak in south wales, has suggested a separate covid inquiry for wales would create "an enormous degree of overlap" and that he prefers a uk-wide inquiry that could give "detailed attention" to events in wales. anne webb, an 85-year-old nursing home resident from treorchy, is believed to be the uk's first nursing home resident to receive a third covid vaccine. 20 september – the welsh ambulance service becomes the latest uk ambulance service to ask for help from the military due to increased pressure because of covid. welsh labour has called off its party conference, scheduled for 5–7 november, due to concerns about rising covid cases. 21 september – figures from the office for national statistics indicate there were 65 covid-related deaths in wales in the week ending 10 september, the highest number of covid-related deaths for six months. 22 september – the patient watchdog the community health council warns that people in some parts of wales are facing a "crisis of access" to gps, with some waiting as long as an hour on the phone to speak to their local surgery. health minister eluned morgan says the welsh ambulance service is facing pressure like never before. 23 september – wales once again produces the worst performance figures for hospital emergency department waiting times, with only 40.7% of patients attending a&e at one hospital being seen within four hours. students are urged that it would be "sensible" to get vaccinated as pop-up vaccination centres are established at universities for freshers week. 24 september – figures produced by public health wales indicate a third of covid cases over the last week were among people who are unvaccinated. a freedom of information request reveals the welsh government spent £32,000 on an advertising campaign featuring rappers goldie lookin' chain aimed at encouraging people to get vaccinated. this includes paying the band to write the song "get the jab done". the welsh government also had a final say on the lyrics. 25 september – denbighshire becomes the latest welsh local authority to ask its schools to strengthen covid measures, including mask wearing and social distancing, as covid cases rise. the two-day porthcawl elvis festival returns following its cancellation in 2020 due to covid. 26 september – darren hughes, director of the welsh nhs confederation, warns it could take several years to clear the patient backlog built up during covid. health figures indicate the covid case rate continues to rise in wales, with the seven day average at 593.9 per 100,000, a rise from 582 two days earlier. 27 september – the welsh government agrees to partially align its covid travel rules with england from 4 october by merging the green and amber lists and scrapping the pre-departure tests, but remains undecided on whether to change the rules regarding pcr tests after arrival. 28 september – the welsh government confirms 5 october as the start date for its covid pass scheme for large events, and announces that it will be a criminal offence to fake a lateral flow test for a covid pass. hospital admission figures show covid admissions to be at their lowest since 22 august. 29 september – dr david tuthill, officer for wales for the royal college of paediatricians, calls for an end to the testing of children with no covid symptoms as it places "huge strain" on schools. october 2021 1 october – dyfed-powys police and crime commissioner dafydd llywelyn says tracking down people with fake covid passes should not be a priority for police officers. figures indicate there have been more than 10,000 covid cases in welsh schools since the beginning of the autumn term. 3 october – the covid case rate is estimated to be 612 per 100,000, but has fallen for the fourth successive day, and is down from 638.4 two days ago. health minister eluned morgan confirms that all children aged 12–15 will have been offered a covid vaccine by the end of the october half term. 4 october – shelter cymru has accused police forces in wales of "assisting illegal evictions" during the pandemic. evictions were banned in wales for much of the pandemic, and remained so until june 2021 when the ban was replaced with a six-month notice for tenants. 5 october – members of the senedd vote 28–27 in favour of introducing covid passports for nightclubs and large events on 11 october. the royal college of gps urges the welsh government to fund an alternative way of booking gp appointments to end what they describe as the competition of trying to get an appointment by phone. 6 october – the night time industries association calls for the senedd vote on covid passports to be taken again after it emerges that one of the mss was unable to log into zoom to cast his virtual vote. data from public health wales shows that case rates of covid have fallen considerably in the under 25s over the preceding week. 7 october – as covid case rates fall below 500 per 100,000 for the first time since mid-september, the welsh government releases a statement on its plans for the coming winter. it believes shops will be allowed to stay open as covid moves from a pandemic to a seasonal illness. two states of covid stable and covid urgent will also be used for determining the situation. 8 october – setting out the welsh government's autumn and winter plan, first minister mark drakeford says that people can look forward to a christmas "much more like the ones we are