As England is set to be engulfed in another total lockdown, Wales is in the grips of a 17-day, so-called firebreak.
Just as was the case in March, residents have been asked not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary, and pubs, restaurants and non-essential shops have been required to shut.
Supermarkets were instructed to stop selling non-essential items, and travel was restricted except for a limited set of reasons - such as work and education.
"We're doing takeaways and trying to plod on," said Matthew Dawkins, chef and owner of The Castle Inn in Usk, Monmouthshire. Having switched the award-winning pub's business model to make this possible during the UK-wide lockdown in March, he explained that it was less about turning a profit than sustaining the team to the best of their ability.
"We're just trying to do something to keep going," he said.
"With the takeaways, we were doing really well in the five-month lockdown," he explained, as he and his wife had help from their family to keep things running while the team was on furlough.
For chef Shaun Hill, who took on The Walnut Tree thirteen years ago with partner William Griffiths, and successfully regained the 50 year-old restaurant's Michelin star, the firebreaker isn't as much of a strain as the four months during which the restaurant was closed in the summer.
What's most striking about their current predicament, he believes, is that "most people don't even realise that there's a lockdown in Wales."
"There are aspects of the lockdown that are certainly no worse than what it was before," he said, as high-risk areas in South Wales already had to abide by strict restrictions for weeks beforehand, nor were people from London, Birmingham, Manchester allowed to enter into Wales.
"That's most of your half term business."
"So once you've got that, two metres social distancing and everybody out at 10 o'clock, you're just left wondering what little pieces of dog shit they're going to put in your way."
"In some respects, a complete lockdown is easier," he said, as "if you have to close, at least you get some help with wages."
What's more, he said, "this time, we had a little bit more notice," as coinciding with half-term was always the plan, and a leaked letter made it to the press so businesses were given a fair warning.
"At least I didn't order a load of bloody food that I have to bin or freeze."
What next?
Wales may have the last laugh yet, as despite reluctances from the centralised government when the firebreak was decided upon last month, an earlier crackdown to curb the spread of the virus could be condusive to a more smooth winter.
From November 9th, hospitality businesses in Wales
