Mr McLean said that Welsh Government changes in the critical worker policy could help explain this increase. The rules on critical workers have been made clearer with children only needing one parent to be defined as a critical worker to attend school during the lockdown. More jobs roles have also been added to the critical worker list. Schools in Monmouthshire and the rest of Wales have been operating remotely since the end of the Autumn term in December. It is not yet clear when the Welsh Government will decide to reopen the schools to all children. Mr McLean said the big difference between the first lockdown and now, is that schools are expected to educate the children.