IT is still too early to say whether a second firebreak will happen in the new year, the health minister has said.

A second firebreak lockdown could be required in Wales by January or February next year, Wales’ deputy minister for economy and transport Lee Waters said over the weekend.

Asked whether he agreed with that statement yesterday, health minister Vaughan Gething said: "None of us can say what is likely."

Mr Gething added: "What we are being really upfront with people about is that the firebreak is necessary to deal with the exponential rise in cases and the exponential rise in harm that we are seeing."

Decisions on whether a second firebreak lockdown would be needed in the new year, he said, would depend on how successful the current measures are.

READ MORE:

The health minister explained: "We need to look at what is happening through this time.

"We need to reverse and look at where we are when we get there.

"I cannot give you an idea of the position we will be in at Christmas, so I certainly can't forecast or get into a hypothetical answer about the new year measures.

"They will depend on how successful we are in coming together as a nation to act in a way that means the virus is less likely to spread in the future.

"And in a way that the virus is less likely to cause the harm that we have already seen in the last week, with more than 60 families mourning the loss of loved ones."