LOCAL LOCKDOWN ‘A WAKE-UP CALL’
WALES’ first local lockdown, in the county borough of Caerphilly, will not be lifted until October “at the very least” the health minister has warned.
And he said the restrictions, which came into force at 6pm last night, should serve as a “wake-up call for everybody”.
The move came as Public Health Wales reported the highest number of positive Covid-19 cases nationally in months.
Under the new rules, people must not enter or leave the area without a “reasonable excuse”.
Meetings with other people indoors will not be allowed, along with overnight stays and extended households.
Health minister Vaughan Gething said the area’s case rate had risen to 72.9 cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in Wales and one of the highest in the UK.
He told the Welsh Government’s weekly coronavirus briefing that the majority of the positive cases were linked to people socialising without physical distancing, and those returning from holidays abroad.
“The fact that Caerphilly has been singled out, with the highest rate within Wales and the second-highest rate I understand right across the UK of coronavirus infection, should be a real wake-up call for everybody,” Mr Gething said.
“People who thought coronavirus was no longer a threat should sit up and take notice.
“I do not want to see a second wave returning.
“I do not want to return to this press conference each week and have to explain the numbers of infection rates, the numbers of people in hospital, and the numbers of people who are losing their lives.
“That is what is at stake.
“That is why we’ve introduced these new restrictions.”
He warned similar local lockdowns could be introduced in other parts of Wales if the “same pattern of events” seen in Caerphilly was replicated.
Mr Gething told the press conference that pubs and bars in the Caerphilly area would remain open, as there was no “evidence base” to suggest transmission was taking place there.
People in the county borough will only be able to share a table with members of their household and should socially distance from others.
“If those rules aren’t followed then we can, of course, consider taking further action,” Mr Gething said.
The new restrictions in Caerphilly require everyone over the age of 11 to wear a face covering in shops, the first time this has been mandatory in Wales.
But Mr Gething said he did not want to introduce such a measure in other parts of the country, adding that face coverings were not “a silver bullet on their own”.
“We’ve seen a sustained fall over the summer of transmission rates in Wales,” he said.
“A few weeks ago, Wales was comfortably the country within the UK with the lowest rates of transmission.
“We did that without mandatory face coverings within shops.
“Caerphilly is in a different position because of the heightened levels of coronavirus, that’s why mandated face covering are coming in in that part of Wales.
“I don’t want to introduce additional mandatory measures or lockdown measures in other parts of the country.
“If it’s necessary, though, I won’t hesitate to do so.”
People in the Caerphilly area who were previously shielding are not being advised to do so again but they should be “particularly careful”, the minister said.
The Welsh Government has said the local lockdown restrictions – which are being enforced by the local authority and police – will be reviewed in two weeks, though Mr Gething warned cases could continue to increase within that period.
“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 October, 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 Covid-19.
A further 488 tests were carried out on Sunday, and a similar number on Monday.
Detailing the increase in cases
nationally, Mr Gething added: “Even a week ago, we comfortably had the lowest rate of coronavirus of any of the UK nations.
“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.”
Some in the county – which covers a swathe of the Valleys from Caerphilly’s southern county border with Cardiff, to the top of the Rhymney Valley, with a population of some 180,000 – yesterday spoke of their shock at the move.
Nick Ashraf, who owns clothing store Bagz opposite Caerphilly Castle, said: “I didn’t think a lovely town like Caerphilly would be on lockdown. Places like Manchester, Bolton, big cities, you would probably expect something like to happen, but here – I’m very shocked.
“We were closed for over three months and that was really hard. We were suffering anyway being on the high street and with Brexit we were struggling anyway so lockdown was totally devastating.
“Yes we did receive some help from the government with grants and rates, but for businesses it’s only a pinch of sand by the time you pay your expenses.
“What are we going to do this time now it’s the second time around? It’s worrying times.
“I’m trying my best, on Monday I went up north and I bought new stock for the new season, we are trying to get back on track.
“I spent a lot of money on stock and I think I am going to be sitting on it for a long time.”
Leanne Fry, 41, a care worker in the town, said while lockdown won’t affect her, she is glad it will stop people from travelling.
“When we had the first lockdown I was working in care and we are back and fore, so lockdown didn’t affect us,” she added. “Down by the castle there would be groups of people drinking and having a whale of a time, to be honest I just stayed away from it. I was trying not to think about it.
“I feel sorry for the ones that can’t get out and about. It affects people with large families, it’s just me and my daughter.”
Talking about the new lockdown rules, she added: “I haven’t got an idea, I try and stay away from the news. The government are helping people the best they can but the rules are not very clear.”
Political opponents yesterday called on the Welsh Government to provide a “clear strategy” on local lockdowns.
Rhun ap Iorwerth, Plaid Cymru Shadow Health Minister, said: “We all want to avoid new lockdowns if possible, but the Welsh Government must publish their local lockdown strategy – what is their early warning system, who makes the call and who is responsible for enforcing the rules? This should be sensitive to differences between communities in different parts of Wales.
“With the relaxing of restrictions, there has to be clearer enforcement of the basics, including social distancing, hand washing and – of course, the wearing of face masks. And without a clear guide for the alarm bells to watch for, the public did not have fair warning that a local lockdown could be imposed.
“Face masks should have been part of keeping us safe. They’re a preventative measure to limit transmission. And with rising infection rates in other county boroughs, the wearing of face coverings should be made compulsory in all shops in Wales at once.
“It makes no sense to only make it mandatory after a spike in cases has been confirmed.”
Meanwhile, over the border, the Westminster adminstration warned of a possible second peak of coronavirus following a “concerning” rise in the number of cases.
The warning from England’s Health Secretary came as he imposed further restrictions in Bolton.
A recent spike in cases across the country should be a reminder that the virus “remains a threat”, he said.
“This is not over,” he told the House of Commons. “Just because we have come through one peak doesn’t mean we can’t see another one coming towards our shores.”
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has also warned that if people stop social distancing then “Covid comes back”.