What changes as we go from "stay at home" to "stay local"?

1 June 2020, 13:50 | Updated: 1 June 2020, 13:51

The Welsh Government have brought in new "stay local" regulations, replacing the previous "stay at home" policy.

Now, we can spend an unlimited amount of time outdoors for recreation, so long as we stay in our local area.

A guideline of five miles has been given, but we're told that we should use our judgement and that this could be further, especially in rural areas where people may need to travel further to access essential shops or services.

As part of these new rules we can now also meet with members of one other household at a time, outdoors in our local area. 2 metre social distancing needs to be observed between members of each household. This can take place in an outdoor public setting, or in someone's private garden. If we are passing through someone's home to access a garden space we're being advised to practise good hygiene and avoid touching surfaces unnecessarily.

We can meet as many other households as we like on separate occasions, so long as these are separate meetings.

We can also take part in exercise with a member of another household, again with 2 metre social distancing followed.

While before we needed a specific reason to be out of our home, now we will need a specific reason to be out of our local area and these can include buying essential items (only if we could not get these locally), to provide care to someone, to pay respects at a cemetery or memorial site and to receive medical treatment.

Travel for work is also acceptable if it is work that cannot be done locally, but we're still being urged to work from home if it is possible.

The rules have been brought in to prevent the spread of Coronavirus between different parts of Wales.

In announcing the rules the First Minister Mark Drakeford said the aim is to "stay local to keep Wales safe".

Meanwhile, the over 120,000 people with health conditions which meant they were advised to stay at home "shielding" from the virus have now been told they can spend time outside exercising, or meeting members of other households outdoors at a distance.