WATCH: 7,200 people could die in Wales if R rate rises to 1.1, says Drakeford

Mark Drakeford has said that “with the R rate at 0.8 we think 800 people could die in Wales over the next three months”, and warned that the number could increase to 7,200 if the R rate rises to 1.1.

In an interview with Sky News this morning, the First Minister of Wales described how “tiny margins genuinely are the difference between life and death for thousands of Welsh citizens”.

He explained: “That is why the Welsh government with all our partners here in Wales are determined to move cautiously, carefully, monitoring every step we take and not to take any risks.”

Drakeford discussed the plans to ease the lockdown under the devolved administration, saying that the government would be publishing a strategy involving a “traffic light” system.

He said that dates to end certain measures would not be provided, because “people get fixated with a date, rather than the process that you have to go through to make sure that it is safe”.

The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the UK stands at 33,614 according to Public Health England. There have been 233,151 recorded cases, but with low levels of testing the true figure is thought to be much higher.