Lockdowns extended as coronavirus cases surge
FOUR more areas of Wales will be placed under a local lockdown today, meaning a “large part” of the population of south-east Wales will be subjected to such restrictions.
The measures, which are already in force across Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) and Caerphilly county borough, will apply in Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent from 6pm.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething said there had been a “worrying and rapid rise” in cases of Covid-19 in the four new areas, which have a combined population of about 430,000 people.
Under the measures, people must not enter or leave the areas without a reasonable excuse and are only able to meet with other households outdoors, including members of their extended household.
All licensed premises such as pubs have to close at 11pm.
Public Health Wales yesterday said a further 234 people had tested positive for coronavirus – the highest daily increase since April 22.
Mr Gething told a press conference in Cardiff there had been a “worrying and rapid rise in cases” in the council areas of Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Blaenau Gwent.
“We are seeing evidence of coronavirus spreading. We need to take action to control and, ultimately, reduce its spread and protect people’s health,” Mr Gething said.
“It’s always a difficult decision to introduce restrictions but coronavirus has not gone away – it is still circulating in communities across
Wales and, as we are seeing in parts of south Wales, small clusters can quickly cause real issues in local communities.”
Mr Gething said the restrictions would affect a “large part” of the population of south Wales and the south Wales valleys.
It means more than 850,000 people face local restrictions when RCT and Caerphilly are also taken into account.
Caerphilly was the first part of Wales to go into lockdown and did not have the 11pm restriction on licensed premises. To keep consistency across local lockdown areas, this restriction will also be applied to Caerphilly.
Mr Gething said: “In general, most people follow the rules, but our challenge is to tackle the minority who choose to break the rules because they have a significant impact.”
He said he couldn’t “definitively” give a time-scale of how long lockdown measures would be needed but a fall in cases in Caerphilly provided a
“cautious note of optimism”.
Today, the Welsh Government will call an urgent meeting of all local authority, health board and police forces from Bridgend to the English border.
This will discuss whether further measures are required across south Wales, Mr Gething said.
The new measures, which will be enforced by local authorities and police, will be regularly reviewed, he added.
Cases in Merthyr Tydfil appear to be focused on two clusters, one linked to a large employer and the other to a pub, with two smaller clusters also identified.
The number of positive cases of Covid-19 in Rhondda Cynon Taf, which went into local lockdown last Thursday, has continued to rise.
“Initially, most cases were in younger age groups but we are now seeing infections in all age groups and, particularly worrying, we have 34 cases of coronavirus in people in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital,” Mr
Gething said.
He said the area of Bridgend was a “growing concern”, with the pattern of infection similar to that seen in Rhondda Cynon Taf.
Infections in Blaenau Gwent have been linked to pubs and a lack of social distancing but there have been cases of Covid-19 in care home staff and secondary schools.
Newport’s rise in cases appeared to begin from a house party at the end of August that was then linked to pubs, though there is now a “wide spread” across the city, Mr Gething said.
He described the measures in the six areas as “a more targeted form of intervention” than a Wales-wide lockdown.
“We may though reach a point where the spread continues, where we need to take wider action across a region of Wales or indeed across the country,” Mr Gething said.
Conservative MS Andrew RT Davies MS – the Shadow Health Minister – said: “Ministers and governments must do everything possible to
avoid another blanket national lockdown, as the other public health and economic impacts would be disastrous.
“We need to see smart, hyper-local lockdowns based on accurate and detailed data, and a resumption of shielding of the elderly and vulnerable.
“We all need to play our part by adhering to social distancing, masks, and hand hygiene, and we need to see a strong public information campaign from the Welsh Labour-led Government to hammer this message home.”
Meanwhile, the chief medical officers of Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland issued a joint statement yesterday calling for all four nations of the UK to up the Covid-19 alert level from Level 3 to Level 4, a level the UK was last at in June.
They said: “The Joint Biosecurity Centre has recommended that the Covid-19 alert level should move from Level 3 (a Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation) to Level 4 (a
Covid-19 epidemic is in general circulation; transmission is high or rising exponentially).
“The CMOs for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have reviewed the evidence and recommend all four nations of the UK should move to Level 4.
“After a period of lower Covid cases and deaths, the number of cases are now rising rapidly and probably exponentially in significant parts of all four nations.
“If we are to avoid significant excess deaths and exceptional pressure in the NHS and other health services over the autumn and winter, everyone has to follow the social distancing guidance, wear face coverings correctly and wash their hands regularly.
“We know this will be concerning news for many people; please follow the rules, look after each other and together we will get through this.”
It came as the UK Government’s chief scientific adviser warned that the UK could see 50,000 Covid-19 cases a day by mid-October and a daily death toll of 200 or more a month later unless urgent action is taken.
Sir Patrick Vallance said it was “not a prediction” but the current doubling of cases every seven days could lead to a dramatic rise in hospitalisations and deaths.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a call with First Minister Mark Drakeford. It was the second of two since May 28, after Mr Drakeford last Friday called the lack of contact “unacceptable”.
A Welsh Government spokesman said of yesterday’s call: “The First Minister updated the Prime Minister about the measures the Welsh Government is taking in Wales to control an increase in cases of coronavirus and protect people’s health in parts of south Wales. They agreed on the need to work on a four-nation basis to discuss UK-wide measures where these were necessary.”
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Mr Johnson had also spoken with the First Minister of Scotland and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland.
“During these calls, the Prime Minister made clear that the rising infection rates are a cause for great concern, which he is taking very seriously,” she said.
“He reiterated his unwavering commitment to working with the devolved administrations as we continue to tackle the virus.”
Mr Drakeford, along with the First Minister of Scotland and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, has been invited to a Cobra meeting today.
Mr Johnson is also due to give a statement to the Commons today at about 12.30pm.
The total number of coronavirus cases in Wales since the beginning of the pandemic is now 20,878.
There were no further deaths reported yesterday, with the total in the country remaining at 1,603.