‘It only takes a few to flout rules and we’re back to square one’

FRUSTRATION at the latest lockdown was palpable in Blaenau Gwent.

Lifelong Brynmawr resident Alan Johnson, 57, said: “With people going back into pubs and restaurants so soon, I felt it was always going to happen. People have been warned, but they are just not listening.

“I think this should be a total lockdown now and not just in certain areas, but for everything except essential shops.”

Ariston Currie, 46, of Tredegar, said he was not surprised. He said: “It was bound to happen with people not listening to the rules properly up here, and many of them going out to the pubs and bars over the last few weekends exactly as they would have before the pandemic.

“It shows how it only takes a few to flout the rules and we’re all back to square one. It doesn’t effect me personally as I don’t drink or go out that much, and I’m to happy isolate with my family. I just feel for those who are struggling with things such as mental health issues, or those who potentially have to isolate alone through another lockdown.”

Lee Meredith, of Abertillery, runs the Community Fitness gym in Brynmawr. He said: “We are all quite worried about what another lockdown means for us in terms of our business and personal lives. We obviously want to be safe and beat the virus, but at the same time we want to keep people active and get on with our lives as best we can, so it is tricky.

“There will always be those who don’t listen, but if we all do our part then I’m sure we’ll be able to get through it a second time round.”