Town entering lockdown earlier as spread of virus there is ‘not in control’
LLANELLI is going into local lockdown before Cardiff and Swansea because the rise of coronavirus cases there is said to be “not in control”.
It was announced yesterday afternoon that a large part of Llanelli, together with Cardiff and Swansea, would enter a period of lockdown over the weekend.
However, the new restrictions in Llanelli are coming into force at 6pm on Saturday – 24 hours before those in Wales’s biggest two cities.
The reason for this is said to be the concentration of cases within the Llanelli area – with Health Minister Vaughan Gething confirming that eight out of 10 cases in the county of Carmarthenshire are “linked to Llanelli”.
Carmarthenshire Council has also said that Llanelli has seen a “concentrated spread” of Covid-19 cases compared to other parts of the county. In the past week, 85 new cases have been identified in Llanelli, compared to just 24 in the rest of Carmarthenshire.
In that time, Llanelli has had a rate of 151.6 new cases per 100,000 population, whereas Carmarthenshire, excluding Llanelli, has seen a rate of 18.1.
To put that into context, the rate in Newport was at 45.3 per 100,000 population when it was put into lockdown at the start of the week. Blaenau Gwent has the highest rate in Wales currently with 201.8.
Speaking at lunchtime yesterday, Mr Gething was asked about why the lockdown measures were coming in 24 hours’ earlier in Llanelli, and he said: “In Llanelli we have a
particular challenge around the town, which has seen a significant spread which is not in control.
“We have spoken with the local health board and with the local authority,
and we understand that about 35,000 people will be covered by the new restrictions.”
Mr Gething added that the majority of cases in the Llanelli area could be traced to people “socialising without social distancing”.
Under the restrictions in Llanelli, a large part of the town and surrounding areas are being classified as a ‘health protection zone’ which will cover 13 ward areas – Bigyn, Bynea, Dafen, Elli ward, Felinfoel, Glanymor, Hendy, Hengoed, Llanegennech, Lliedi, Llwynhendy, Tyisha, and Swiss Valley.
Llanelli MS Lee Waters said: “These new restrictions have been put in place after the Llanelli area’s rate of infection rose to 151 per 100,000 people. This is a significant rise, and a rate far higher than Cardiff.
“Through successful use of the Welsh track and trace system Public Health Wales has been able to identify the 109 people in Llanelli who have tested positive for Covid-19 and have traced 977 people they have been in contact with and given them advice on whether they should self-isolate and get tested.
“We’re urging people in the area to please abide by these new restrictions, think carefully about the journeys you make and people you see, and above all help us to protect our most vulnerable residents.
“These restrictions are going to be reviewed after 14 days, so if we pull together now, we can get through this.
“Our teams will be available to answer any questions you have, so please don’t hesitate to get in touch.”
Llanelli MP Nia Griffith said: “This is the first time a lockdown hasn’t been applied on a county-wide basis.
“That’s because the vast majority of new cases in the past week have been in and around Llanelli, accounting for eight out of ten cases in Carmarthenshire as a whole.
“So this targeted lockdown is designed to try to stamp it out quickly.
“We’ve seen in Caerphilly that where people comply with the new restrictions that the virus can be successfully brought under control so we appeal to people locally to do the same.”
Mid and West Wales MS Helen Mary Jones added: “This isn’t the news that we wanted to hear for Llanelli, but it is understandable because of the rate of infection in the town.
“Earlier this month Plaid Cymru suggested a similar, smarter form of lockdown such as this.
“This ‘smart lockdown’ cluster-based approach could be more effective.
“The strategy has been adopted by other countries based around microquarantines focused on high-infection areas within communities not a wide area untargeted lockdown, for example, across a whole local authority area.
“Ca rmar t h e n s h i re Council, the Welsh Government, the health board and the local community all have to work together to bring down the rate of infection in Llanelli and its neighbouring communities.”
Llanelli Rural Council said its reception office at Vauxhall Buildings will remain open but encouraged contact by phone or email to minimise contact.
It said LRC Training will continue to provide faceto-face sessions with its learners who will continue to travel into its training centres.
Council-run parks and play areas will remain open but the opening of community halls is suspended until the local movement restrictions are lifted.
The council’s ground maintenance duties will carry on with its staff adhering to the control measures that they already have in place. The office at Llanelli District Cemetery will be closed to the public but it can still be contacted by phone or email.