The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 24) Regulations 2021

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

Part 2A of the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 enables the Welsh Ministers, by regulations, to make provision for the purpose of preventing, protecting against, controlling or providing a public health response to the incidence or spread of infection or contamination in Wales.

These Regulations are made in response to the serious and imminent threat to public health which is posed by the incidence and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Wales.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1609 (W. 335)) (“the principal Regulations”).

Before their amendment by these Regulations, regulations 8 and 9A of the principal Regulations require all close contacts of a person who has coronavirus which is or may be the Omicron variant to self-isolate for a 10-day period. The exemptions that ordinarily apply to close contacts that satisfy particular conditions (for example, close contacts that are vaccinated) do not have effect.

These Regulations amend the principal Regulations to remove the distinction between close contacts of known or suspected Omicron cases and close contacts of all other positive cases. This means that all close contacts, regardless of the variant of coronavirus concerned, will not be required to self-isolate if they—

• are children,

• have completed a course of doses of an authorised vaccine at least 14 days before the close contact takes place,

• are participating in a clinical trial in the United Kingdom, or

• are participating in a testing scheme.

The Regulations also provide that where a person comes within these categories but was under a requirement to isolate, as a result of having close contact with a known or suspected Omicron case, immediately before the start of the day on 22 December 2021, the isolation requirement ends at the start of the day on that date.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. In accordance with the Code, a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely cost and benefit of complying with these Regulations has not been carried out, due to the need to put them in place urgently to deal with a serious and imminent threat to public health.