That brings us to the end of our live coverage of today's coronavirus updates from the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales.

The main points on Friday:

• Vaccination will begin in Wales on Tuesday, after the first vaccine for use here was approved earlier this week
• The first minister has defended imposing new restrictions on Wales from this evening, saying he will do "whatever is needed" to protect people
• From this evening, all hospitality venues will be banned from serving alcohol on their premises and must close by 18:00 daily
• The rule will be reviewed in three weeks, but Mark Drakeford said Covid rates had to drop before the restriction was lifted
• The first minister has also urged people not to travel outside Wales unless it is essential
• A further 33 deaths with Covid-19 have been recorded in Wales, taking the number of deaths to 2,671
• There were also 1,471 new cases of infection

Until our next briefing update, you can continue to follow all the latest developments online, on BBC Radio Wales, Wales Today on BBC One and our social media channels.

Have a good weekend and stay safe.

Ahead of changes to travel restrictions in Wales from this evening, the First Minister has taken to social media to warn: "Coronavirus doesn't respect borders."

He has urged the public to "think carefully" about travelling to other parts of the UK.

A further 33 people with coronavirus have died in Wales, says Public Health Wales.

It takes the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 2,671.

There were 1,471 new cases of infection also recorded in Wales, taking the rolling number of Covid cases to 85,432.

Drinks producers are calling on the Welsh Government to reverse a decision to abandon a Christmas television advertising campaign for the industry.

An email to the sector said the campaign "could cause some confusion" after a decision to ban alcohol in pubs and restaurants.

One vineyard owner said it felt like a "double whammy" while another called it a "major demoralising blow".

The Welsh Government said its "virtual" and digital campaign would continue.

New rules, such as a ban on serving alcohol in bars, restaurants and cafes and allowing cross-border travel to parts of England and Scotland, will come into force on Friday at 18:00 BST.

Image source, Getty Images

The man responsible for working out the details of next year's school assessments to replace exams in Wales says he hopes pupils and teachers will get clarity by January.

Former head teacher Geraint Rees said his group's ambition is to deliver both fairness to students and qualifications which "stand the test of time".

GCSE, A-level and AS exams will be replaced by assessments in 2021 due to Covid-19 disruption.

Mr Rees said the qualifications must be "worth what they say on the tin".

Education Minister Kirsty Williams decided last month to scrap exams in 2021 because of fears there would not be a level playing field due to the pandemic.

In England, extra measures were announced on Thursday to "boost fairness and support students" for next summer's GCSE and A-level exams, which are going ahead there.

More generous grading, advance notice of exam topics and "second chance" exams in July have been promised there to make up for Covid-related disruption.

Image source, Getty Images

A decision by the Welsh Ambulance Service to declare a "critical incident" on Thursday highlighted the "impact of coronavirus on day-to-day care", according to the first minister.

A spike in demand led to ambulance bosses asking people only to call 999 for serious emergencies.

Mark Drakeford told the Friday Covid briefing: "The problem was not so much ambulances or crews being unavailable, but that hospitals in some parts of Wales are now so full of patients with coronavirus that it simply wasn't possible for our ambulance service to attend to other people's emergencies in the way that we would want and expect.

"Fortunately, that position has improved today but yesterday the impact of coronavirus in our health service was absolutely real, and making a difference in the care we were able to offer to people suffering from strokes, or heart attacks, or having broken limbs."

Image source, Getty Images

Heading into England for Christmas shopping will be "posing a risk to yourself and others", Wales' first minister has claimed.

Mark Drakeford said the law does not prevent people in Wales from going to areas of England subject to the lowest two tiers of restrictions.

But he said the advice was "not to do it".

"The further you travel, and the more other people you mix with elsewhere, the greater the risk you pose," he told reporters.

"This is a year to go Christmas shopping in Wales, and close to home, because in that way you can both celebrate Christmas, and you can do it without posing a risk to yourself and others."

Image source, Getty Images

Welsh Conservative leader in the Senedd Paul Davies has called on Mark Drakeford to appoint a vaccines minister to ensure the process of getting the population inoculated went smoothly.

The vaccine was “giving people hope at the end of a very dark tunnel”, Mr Davies said.

“What’s important now is that we see the roll-out of the vaccine take place as soon as possible.

"That’s why I think it’s important that the Welsh Government have a specific minister responsible for the roll-out of this vaccine, making sure this vaccine now rolls out across Wales over the next few months.”

Image source, Getty Images

Rules on how many households can come together over Christmas in Wales have been tweaked to help those on their own, the first minister says.

Between 23 and 27 December, three households can join as one for a single Christmas bubble.

Mark Drakeford said that bubble can now be joined by a single person, single parent or someone with caring responsibilities, who would otherwise be on their own over the festive period.

He described it as "an important addition to the Christmas arrangements" to make sure such people were "not left out".

Image source, Getty Images

It may not be possible to convince everyone to be vaccinated against coronavirus, Wales' first minister has said.

"There are sadly some people who we will never convince who've become captured by those sort of conspiracy theorists of the far right, and I don't think it's possible to persuade that small group of people," said Mark Drakeford.

“What we have to concentrate on are those people in the middle who will want to be sure that the vaccine is safe, will want to be sure that the vaccine is effective, and there I think we have everything that we need in terms of the evidence from the regulator and from the manufacturer."

The first minister said the Welsh Government will be working with the UK on a common advertising and information campaign.

Mr Drakeford, who is 66, said he himself would "be there making sure that I get the benefit" of the vaccine when he became eligible for it under the list of priorities.

Image source, Getty Images

First Minister Mark Drakeford has stressed the Welsh Government's "strong advice" was that people should avoid travelling abroad, even though it will not be illegal for them to do so under the current rules.

"Technically they could get to Gatwick, he said, referring to the airport which is in England's tier two of coronavirus restrictions.

"But our strong advice is going on holiday is not a good reason for leaving Wales during a pandemic, with all the additional risks that will cause."

Mr Drakeford added: "What has not changed, however, is the regime in Wales for when you return.

"When you return from international travel you will still be subject to a 14-day quarantine period.

"And that is to make sure that people returning from elsewhere in the world don't bring the virus back to Wales and cause a difficulty for others, and we definitely saw that at the very start of a pandemic."

Image source, Getty Images

Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said his government will take a "precautionary approach" to lifting Covid-19 restrictions "until we have a sufficient number of people vaccinated".

There was a need "to be sure that the risks that are posed to our health service, and to people falling ill" had been "effectively suppressed" by a vaccine, adding that he felt it was "not going to happen quickly".

"Even with the vaccines that are coming our way fastest, you have to have two doses of them three weeks apart, and they are not effective until after the second dose," Mr Drakeford said.

"So even those people who will be vaccinated in Wales in December will not see the benefit of that vaccine until into the New Year."

Image source, Reuters

There needs to be “a sustained fall” in the number of coronavirus cases to reverse the alcohol ban being imposed in Wales from this evening, the first minister has said.

Pubs and restaurants throughout Wales will be barred from serving alcohol on their premises from 18:00 on Friday.

The measures are due to be reviewed on 17 December.

But Mark Drakeford warned of conditions needed for the ban to be lifted.

“We would need to see figures coming down across Wales, we need to see a sustained fall in those numbers and be clear that the trajectory is heading down as well," he said.

“And we would need to see Wales in terms of the number of people falling ill with coronavirus coming more into line with the levels that are used to determine level two and tier two in England and Scotland.

“Because if that were to be the case, then the flow of people into our hospital system and the pressures that are currently being created there would be being mitigated.

“But those are the sorts of things that we would need to see before we would be in a position to do anything to lessen the restrictions that we have to have in place in Wales, in order to bring the virus under control.”

Image source, Getty Images

The coronavirus situation in Wales remains "very serious", with almost two-thirds of local authorities witnessing infection rates of 150 for every 100,000 people, the first minister says.

Mark Drakeford said Neath Port Talbot and Blaenau Gwent had rates that exceeded 400 cases per 100,000 people.

He said that Wales was experiencing an "unmistakable rise in coronavirus once again" following the reduction in cases from the nation's 17-day firebreak lockdown in October and November.

"Every day we are seeing more and more people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms," he said.

"In the last week we have seen a record number of coronavirus-related patients, and these numbers are increasing.

"Many of these patients will be in hospital for three weeks or longer.

"The epidemic is putting our health service under a significant and sustained pressure."

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, gov.wales

Some business support for firms in Wales forced to close under new Covid rules will be available before Christmas, First Minister Mark Drakeford said today.

With pubs and cafes having to shut after 18:00 and unable to serve alcohol on the premises, £340m is being made available for those affected.

But some elements of the package won’t be paid out until January.

Mr Drakeford said: “It’s important to recognise that there are two parts to the package we’re providing.

“The £180m specifically for tourism and hospitality will require businesses to provide evidence and provide information to allow payments to be made.

“The reminder of the money is being delivered by local authorities using rateable value – the same system we’ve used twice already during the pandemic."

The first minister said local authorities "are working hard" to make sure that part of the payment is made before Christmas.

Critics of the ban on the serving of alcohol in pubs, cafes and restaurants from Friday night in Wales say it hearkens back to the temperance movement of the 19th and early 20th Centuries.

It came from different areas of society with varying aims and agendas, but broadly all sought to reduce the use and influence of drink on people's lives, especially among the working classes.

Some were driven by religious fervour or moral attitudes to drink, some by health and social concerns, and others by economic worries, particularly employers who feared the effects on their workforce and its productivity.

But did the temperance movement succeed? Read more about it.

Image source, Getty Images

Front-line NHS Wales workers and social care staff will be tested for Covid twice a week, even if they have no symptoms.

The programme, to be rolled out later this month, will use lateral flow tests which provide a result in about half an hour

They will be available to doctors, nurses and non-clinical staff such as porters, cleaners and caterers.

Regular testing of hospice inpatient unit staff and those delivering hospice at home services is also promised.

Lateral flow tests produce a result between 20 and 30 minutes on a card-like device and have been used for mass testing in areas like Merthyr Tydfil.

Image source, Getty Images

Wales' first minister has defended the decision to introduce a new ban on pubs, restaurants and cafes serving alcohol, which comes into force tonight. Indoor entertainment venues and attractions also have to close by 18:00 GMT.

“I want to be clear that if we were in another part of the UK, our coronavirus situation would mean we would be subject to the English tier-three regime or level-three restrictions in Scotland,” said Mark Drakeford.

“It is my responsibility to do whatever is needed to protect the lives of people in Wales. Your government will always discharge its duties on your behalf.”

Image source, Getty Images

First Minister Mark Drakeford has confirmed that the first Covid vaccinations will begin on Tuesday.

“Our plans in Wales have been thoroughly tested," he told a press conference.

“We expect to receive the first supplies in the next couple of days. We have trained staff to give the new vaccine.

“We hope this marks a turning point in the pandemic and will put us on what is going to be a long path back to normality.”

The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was approved for use in the UK on Wednesday.

Image source, Getty Images

Yes, in a word.

There will be restrictions, but as cross-border travel rules are relaxed on Friday from 18:00, people from Wales can go to places in England classed as tiers one or two, external - but not to areas under the strictest measures in tier three.

It means travel to places like London, Liverpool, Chester, Cheltenham and Bath will be possible within the new rules - which start at 18:00 on Friday - but not to Manchester, Birmingham or Bristol.

There are caveats, though. While pubs in two of England's three 'tiers' can now open - and every English county that borders Wales is in tier two - you can only buy alcohol as part of a "substantial meal".

One cabinet minister did say drinkers in those tier two areas of England can order a Scotch egg with their pint to keep in line with post-lockdown rules.

But the Welsh Government is urging people against cross-border travel in an attempt to curb rising coronavirus rates.

Image source, PA Media