‘Wecan’tletCovid getoutofcontrol’
Health minister insists virus is likely to spread to neighbours without local lockdown in Caerphilly
“I can’t overstate the seriousness of the position that we’re in...” Health Minister Vaughan Gething
WALES’ first local lockdown, which has been imposed on the county borough of Caerphilly after a surge in coronavirus cases, will not be lifted until October “at the very least” the health minister has warned.
People are now no longer allowed to enter or leave the local authority area without a “reasonable excuse” after the restrictions came into force at 6pm on Tuesday.
Health minister Vaughan Gething said without swift action, the rise in cases would get “out of control” and spread elsewhere.
Under the new rules, everyone over the age of 11 in Caerphilly county is required to wear a face covering in shops – the first time this has been made mandatory in Wales.
Meetings with other people indoors and extended households are not allowed, while overnight stays have also been banned.
The measures follow a spike in cases in Caerphilly county, which stretches from just south of Caerphilly town to the top of the Rhymney Valley, and is home to some 180,000 people. The Welsh Government says there have been 133 new Covid-19 cases in the county borough over the latest seven days of figures.
This is equivalent to a rate of 55.4 cases per 100,000 – the highest rate in Wales and one of the highest in the UK.
And Mr Gething said the rate is “expected to rise” after community testing in the area on Saturday showed a positivity rate of 4%.
“Even a week ago, we comfortably had the lowest rate of coronavirus of any of the UK nations,” Mr Gething told the BBC.
“We’re now in a position, a week later, where we’ve seen a significant spike in activity.
“That shows that coronavirus, over the course of a couple of weeks, can build up very quickly.
“If we don’t address the issue in Caerphilly, we’ll see wider community transmission within the Caerphilly area, but that will spread to other areas as well.
“The reasons for the local lockdown are a spike in transmission that, if left unaddressed, will go out of control.
“We’ll see more people get it, we’ll see more people go into hospitals, being seriously unwell, and it will then have national consequences.”
Mr Gething added: “We have seen a significant rise in cases in Caerphilly borough over a very short space of time, which are linked to holiday travel abroad and people socialising indoors and not following social distancing guidelines.
“A lot of these cases are in younger people and thankfully, at the moment, most of these are mild.
“But coronavirus is now circulating in the community and it’s only a matter of time before we start to see more serious cases, which need hospital treatment.
“We need the help of everyone in Caerphilly borough to prevent the increasing and onward spread of coronavirus.
“We can only bring this local outbreak under control if everyone pulls together and follows these new steps.
“If we do not see cases falling, we may need to take further steps to bring this local outbreak under control.”
But he said pubs and bars would remain open in the Caerphilly area, as significant transmission is not taking place there.
Schools will also remain open and there are no imminent plans to close schools in the county or alter any of their social distancing or safety guidelines.
The lockdown measures, which are being enforced by the local authority and police, will be reviewed every couple of weeks.
“But the evidence and advice that I’ve had from our scientific and medical advisers is that we’re unlikely to see a significant change until two to three weeks, to see the impact these measures are having,” Mr Gething said.
“So we’re in it for several weeks, at least in Caerphilly.”
Asked if that meant the local lockdown would remain in the area until Oc
tober, Mr Gething replied: “Yes, at the very least – I can’t overstate the seriousness of the position that we’re in.”
Community testing was introduced in Caerphilly over the weekend, with 450 people tested on Saturday. Of these, 19 had the virus.
A similar number of people were tested on Sunday, with results expected shortly.
Travel restrictions included in the lockdown mean people cannot enter or leave Caerphilly County Borough Council area without a “reasonable excuse”.
This includes work, if people are unable to work from home, as well as making a compassionate visit to a loved one or to provide care.
People are only allowed to meet others outdoors, with indoor meetings and gatherings restricted.
Caerphilly Council had already introduced measures such as suspending care home visits, and introducing weekly testing for care home staff, in response to the increase in cases.
Philippa Marsden, leader of Caerphilly Council, said: “We need to create a break in the cycle of infection we are seeing in
Caerphilly borough at the moment and unfortunately that means introducing new, tougher restrictions.
“I would urge everyone living in the area to follow these new measures; to follow the social distancing guidelines and to wash their hands regularly.
“If we all work together, we can bring this outbreak under control and reduce cases of the virus.”
Dr Giri Shankar, of Public Health Wales, appealed to everyone in the Caerphilly area to use a local testing unit at the town’s leisure centre if they were experiencing “even the mildest” of symptoms or feeling “generally unwell with no explanation”.
A temporary drivethrough testing facility opened on Tuesday at Penallta House council offices in Ystrad Mynach.
At the drive through centre patients can pull up and have a test through their car window. Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said there are strict safety measures in place to protect both staff members and people coming for a test.
Among the latest cases recorded in Caerphilly county over the past week, two Tesco workers at the Crossways store tested positive.
The virus was understood to have been caught in the community, not while at work.
A Tesco spokesman said: “The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority.
“We have introduced extensive measures across all of our stores to help keep everyone safe, including protective screens at every checkout, social distancing signage and regular deep cleaning.”
The store remained open as normal.
Meanwhile, a member of staff at St Gwladys Primary School in Bargoed tested positive for the virus, with 21 pupils from one class being required to self-isolate for 14 days.
A class at a second school, Bedwas Infants School, was also advised to self-isolate after one pupil tested positive for the virus.
In a note sent to parents on Sunday, the school said: “A pupil has tested positive for coronavirus and we therefore need to follow strict public health protocols to ensure the health and wellbeing of the whole school community.
“As a result, all children in ‘Porffor B’ (those in on Friday September 4) and the staff who worked with
Porffor B will need to isolate at home for 14 days.
“This means that these children will not be able to return to school until September 21.”
A spokesman for Caerphilly County Council said: “We are aware that a pupil at Bedwas Infants School has tested positive for Covid-19 and that the school is taking all appropriate steps to ensure the health and wellbeing of pupils and staff.
“The school is following Public Health Wales guidance and those pupils and staff that are required to self-isolate have been advised to do so.
“The school will remain open and the headteacher is in regular contact with parents and is keen to reassure everyone that robust risk assessments and procedures are in place to deal with these types of incidents.”
A pub in Bedwas, the Fisherman’s Rest, also reported one member of staff testing positive for the virus. Jonny Harris, the pub’s landlord, posted on Facebook that a member of the bar staff felt ill and took a drive through test which resulted in positive.
He said: “I have a pod system in place and all of those in that bar staff pod have been advised, by me, to remain away from the pub until a test result is provided.”
He said track and trace details were available for the NHS and confirmed that the pub would remain closed until at least tomorrow.
Jonny added: “This will allow for many to go to the temp testing station at Caerphilly leisure centre which is due to end Tuesday evening and isolate pending their results
“Although there are several control measures in place at the pub, which will be enhanced on opening, there is a significant amount of personal responsibility for everyone to play their part when they visit.”
A private nursery in Bedwas also posted a statement to their Facebook page reporting it had been informed that a nursery child in their preschool room received a positive coronavirus test result.
The statement, posted on Sunday, said: “We have been informed that a nursery child in our preschool room was yesterday tested for Covid and has received positive test result today.
“The source of the spread of the virus has been traced back to a family member who the child had contact with on Wednesday.
“The child last attended nursery on Thursday.
“We are in the process of contacting the parents and carers of children who attended in the Preschool Room on Thursday, along with any staff members who provided care to the children on that day.”
A deep clean of the nursery was undertaken on Sunday and the nursery reopened on Monday.
On Monday, Public Health Wales reported the highest number of positive Covid-19 cases in months.
It said that a further 133 people had tested positive for coronavirus, representing the highest daily figure since June 27, when 140 cases were reported.
There were no further deaths in people with coronavirus, with the total in Wales since the beginning of the pandemic remaining at 1,597.
Meanwhile, there is some concern about a rising number of cases in parts of Rhondda Cynon Taf over the last seven days. The council there will maintain reduced access arrangements to local authority-run and local independent care homes. This decision means that no friends or family members will be able to visit residents inside the facilities of a local authority or privately-operated care home.