Wales delays further easing of coronavirus restrictions for four weeks after seeing a spike in cases of the Delta variant, as the country again faces a “serious public health situation”.

Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said: “In just a few weeks the Delta variant entered Wales and quickly spread across the country.

“There is a sustained and accelerated transmission, not only in North and South East Wales, but in all parts of Wales.

“It is now the most dominant variant in new cases in Wales. We are again facing a serious public health situation.”

The latest figures show that there are nearly 490 cases of the Delta (India) variant in Wales, while more than four in five new COVID-19 cases are the Delta variant, according to the Welsh government.

Two-thirds of them are unrelated to travel or contact with another case, he added.

On Twitter, Mr Drakeford wrote: “We have reviewed all the evidence and will put rule changes on hold for four weeks.”

He said the government would use this time to ‘vaccinate even more people’, stressing that the country has the highest vaccination rates and the lowest coronavirus rates in the UK.

Rules in Wales were last relaxed on June 7 when outdoor events with up to 10,000 people were allowed to resume and other events, such as concerts, football matches and sports activities, were able to resume for up to 4,000 people standing and 10,000 people seated.

The regulations will be reviewed again on July 15.

Meanwhile, some technical changes are currently being made to the regulations to make them easier to …