december – education minister kirsty williams announces that all secondary schools and further education colleges will move teaching online from monday 14 december. the move is criticised by the children's commissioner for wales as being disruptive to education. senior welsh conservative andrew rt davies calls on the welsh government to clarify reports that wales will be placed into lockdown from 28 december. chief medical officer frank atherton says that the welsh government is considering whether further restrictions are needed in the lead up to christmas, but warns authorities "reached the limit... telling people what to do". 11 december – announcing that outdoor attractions must close from monday 14 december, first minister mark drakeford warns that a post-christmas lockdown will come into force if covid cases do not fall in wales. the aneurin bevan university health board announces the cancellation of all non-urgent health care as covid cases continue to rise in the area. 12 december – the number of positive covid tests in wales passes 100,000 as a further 2,494 cases take the total to 100,725. people are urged not to attend grange university hospital in cwmbran unless absolutely necessary after their a&e department receives a "very high number of covid patients". 13 december – the aneurin bevan university health board expresses concern that covid cases in its area are rising at an "alarming rate" as hospitals come under increasing pressure due to numbers of patients with the virus. leading public health expert, dr angela raffle, suggests continued mass testing for covid is a "massive-scale of waste of resources" as figures show less than 1.5% of people were testing positive as part of pilots in merthyr tydfil and the lower cynon valley. 14 december – doctors are warning that the relaxation of rules at christmas "makes no sense" amid rising covid cases in wales. according to a bbc news report, wales is in breach of covid regulations since it has passed the threshold at which lockdown restrictions should be introduced. the welsh government has said it is unlikely to introduce such restrictions before the christmas period. 15 december – following calls by medical experts to review plans to relax covid rules over christmas, first minister mark drakeford says such a decision would not be taken lightly. an outbreak of covid is reported among staff at a mass vaccination centre in cardiff, with nine staff members testing positive. 16 december – the welsh government announce plans to introduce their own rules concerning the relaxation of covid regulations over christmas. while rules will still be relaxed for five days, unlike the rest of the uk, only two households, plus a single person living alone, will be permitted to meet up between 23 and 27 december. first minister mark drakeford announces a new lockdown for wales, beginning on 28 december. non-essential shops and close contact services will be required to close from close of trading on christmas eve, with pubs and restaurants required to close from 6pm on christmas day. public health wales has said that a "planned maintenance" of some it systems has led to a "significant under-reporting" of positive tests, with as many as 11,000 positive cases missing from official figures, and meaning cases could be twice as high as reported over the preceding week. 17 december – the welsh local government association announces that school pupils in wales will have a staggered return to school after the christmas break, with online learning for the first part of the term. all in person education is expected to resume by 18 january. office for national statistics figures suggest covid-19 accounted for 21.6% of deaths in wales through november, and was by percentage the largest cause of death that month. 18 december – as the number of people in hospital with covid reaches its highest level in wales, standing at 2,231, dr simon barry, a leading respiratory expert, warns that things could get "significantly worse". the number of recorded covid deaths passes 3,000 as a further 38 deaths take the total to 3,011. 19 december – following urgent talks with ministers over a new strain of covid-19, first minister mark drakeford announces that the whole of wales will be placed under lockdown from midnight, with festive plans cancelled for all but christmas day. 20 december – health minister vaughan gething has suggested there could be a spike in covid cases after christmas, even with the early lockdown, and that the new variant of covid is "seeded" in every part of wales. bbc news reports that donations of items such as of free trees, presents and turkey dinners are being made to families whose christmas plans have been disrupted by changes to covid regulations over the festive period. 21 december – figures released by the welsh government indicate that school attendance was at 70% in the week of 7 december, with that figure falling to 50% among year eleven pupils. 23 december – figures from public health wales indicate some 2,500 covid cases have been linked to hospitals in wales since october. helena herklots, the older people's commissioner for wales, calls for more clarity on when older people will receive the covid vaccine. 24 december – office for national statistics figures indicate a sharp rise in covid-19 cases in wales, with an estimated 52,200 people with the virus in the week to 18 december, 18,800 more than the preceding week. with many christmas carol services cancelled, people in wales join to sing "silent night" on their doorsteps at 7pm, the carol having been chosen by the church in wales. 26 december – wales enters lockdown after rules were briefly relaxed over christmas day. cardiff and vale health board, which runs wales's largest hospital, university hospital of wales, issues a plea for emergency assistance in its critical care department to help look after covid patients. an update from the hospital the following day indicates the situation has subsequently improved. 28 december – the association of school and college leaders cymru (asclc) has asked the welsh government whether closing schools before christmas did anything to suppress the spread of covid-19, and demands a strategy for returning pupils to school in january 2021. data released by the welsh government indicates that cardiff and vale health board ran out of intensive care beds on 20 december, prompting dr giri shankar of public health wales to describe the situation as one that is "incredibly challenging". 29 december – visitors to the brecon beacons are being turned away by police, some having travelled to the area from as far away as london. 30 december – following the uk approval of the oxford vaccine, the welsh government announces that people will begin receiving it the following week. police begin "high visibility" patrols to deter visitors to wales's national parks. 31 december – the welsh government confirms it has a flexible policy with regard to the return of schools at the beginning of the winter term; some schools will fully return by 6 january, with others doing so by 11 january, depending on the area.