THE toughest tier four restrictions are inevitable in Wales without a dramatic improvement in the spread of coronavirus.

Health minister Vaughan Gething, speaking to Sky News this morning, said that the tightening of restrictions would come into force immediately after the Christmas period should the case rates across the country not reduce sufficiently.

"We’re seeing cases continue to rise across 21 out of 22 local authorities," he said.

"Yesterday we had some of the highest cases within our local authorities, when compared to the rest of the UK.

"We’re well above where we would want to be.

"We have record numbers of covid patients within our hospitals in Wales. The situation is very real and very serious."

The new 'level' system has been brought in as an attempt to curb the rapid spread of the virus throughout Wales.

Mr Gething said that first minister Mark Drakeford had made it clear that "unless we see a dramatic improvement, in the coming days then Wales will, as a whole, move into Level 4 immediately after the Christmas period".

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"These are really difficult times for our local services," he said.

Asked if the Christmas relaxation of restrictions was not the best idea in Wales, considering the current case rates across the country, Mr Gething said that he had been asked the on numerous occasions.

"This is not a straightforward choice. It isn’t just the politics. It isn’t just whether the public continue to trust us," he said.

"If we have the tightest rules possible, there will be a number of people who will nevertheless go ahead. If you are essentially letting people make up their own rules then there is potentially a bigger risk of uncontrolled spread.

"I wish there were a straightforward choice. I don’t recall having the opportunity to make a straightforward choice in the last ten months."

He said that part of the reason that much tighter restrictions would not be the correct course of action would be that many people "behave entirely differently over Christmas".

"There is much more movement and mixing," he said.

"I’d like to see lots of people at Christmas, but I know that if I go and behave in a way I would during a normal Christmas then I would almost certainly cause harm to other people if not myself."

However, Mr Gething also called for optimism.

Despite the situation not looking entirely bright in Wales at present, he said: "There is hope. The pandemic will end."