Stag and hen parties 'shouldn't happen during a pandemic', says minister

George Martin
Updated ·2 min read
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JULY 06: Members of the public enjoy their first drink in a beer garden at SWG3 multi – disciplinary arts venue on July 06, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. Beer gardens across Scotland are permitted to reopen today, as the coronavirus lockdown restrictions are eased further in the country. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Members of the public enjoy their first drink in a pub as they reopened earlier this summer. (Getty)

Stag and hen parties should not take place during the coronavirus pandemic, the Welsh health minister has said.

Vaughan Gething appealed for those planning to attend weddings to exercise “common sense” as Wales and the rest of the UK seeks to avoid a second wave of the pandemic.

In Wales, people from the same household or extended household are allowed to meet indoors at pubs and other hospitality venues.

However, guidance says people should limit their contact with others outside of those groups.

Gething told the Welsh government’s COVID-19 press briefing: “I remember my own stag event and people from different households, more than a dozen different households, going together to meet, to sleep in two different caravans and go out to a range of different venues.

CARDIFF, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 03: Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services in the Welsh Assembly Vaughan Gething AM on October 3, 2019 in Cardiff, United Kingdom. (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething appealed for revellers to use “common sense”. (Getty)

“That’s exactly what shouldn’t happen now because of the risks that we now face.

“So it’s an appeal to our common sense in the way that we want to maintain the freedoms that we have unlocked, because actually if coronavirus goes up and we see a further upswing, we may end up having to roll back on some of those freedoms.”

Read more: Sage expert warns of choice between pubs and schools as virus cases grow

Wales reopened its pubs much later than England, with pubs, cafes and restaurants only able to serve people indoors from earlier this month.

First minister Mark Drakeford said he wanted to allow people to enjoy socialising "while they can".

Drakeford has previously urged people to continue to abide by social-distancing rules when going to the pub and meeting in groups.

"If we stop now, there is a real risk we will see new outbreaks of coronavirus and we may have to reverse some of these restrictions to control its spread again," he said.

"We are facing the likelihood of a resurgence of the virus over the autumn and winter – this will not be over by Christmas.

"We all have an ongoing responsibility to keep Wales safe."

Coronavirus: what happened today

Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter