HEALTH minister Vaughan Gething announced local lockdowns in Newport and Blaenau Gwent today.

The new restrictions will come in to force from 6pm tomorrow.

Changes were also made to restrictions in Caerphilly as all areas in local lockdown were brought into line with each other.

This is everything Mr Gething said during his announcement today.

"Today I want to update you about the latest position in the areas in south Wales where we are most concerned about the spread of coronavirus.

"We have already introduced local restrictions in Caerphilly borough and Rhondda Cynon Taf to help control a rapid and sharp increase in coronavirus cases in these two areas.

"The number of areas on our watch list has grown.

"The seven-day new case rate is now higher than the all-Wales rate in Bridgend and Blaenau Gwent.

"And we have continued to see an increase in cases in Merthyr Tydfil and Newport despite the measures introduced by the local authorities in those areas in the past 10 days.

"Because of the developing situation in these four local authority areas we will be introducing local restrictions in all four of these local authority areas from 6pm tomorrow evening.

"This will mean a large part of the population of south Wales – and the South Wales Valleys – will be subject to local coronavirus restrictions.

"We will hold an urgent meeting tomorrow with all local authorities, health boards, and police forces in south Wales – from Bridgend to the border with England – to discuss the wider regional situation and whether further measures are needed.

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"Before I turn to the restrictions I want to say a few words about the nature of the cases in each of these areas.

"In Merthyr Tydfil the incidence rate is high but the cases appear to be mainly focused around two distinct clusters, one linked to a large employer and a pub.

"There are two new smaller clusters that have also been identified.

"In Rhondda Cynon Taf, where local restrictions were introduced on Thursday, we have continued to see both the number of positive cases and the incidence rate rise – it is now the highest in Wales.

"We are seeing many small clusters throughout the local authority area which, because of a lack of social distancing, have led to community transmission.

"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.

"Bridgend is a growing concern for us because there has been a sharp rise in cases in a short space of time. We have identified a small number of clusters in the borough. But we are worried the pattern is similar to the one that we have seen in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

"Mobile testing will be introduced in Bridgend this week.

"In Blaenau Gwent we have seen cases linked to pubs and a lack of social distancing but there have also been cases in care home staff and in secondary schools in the area.

"In Newport the rise in cases appeared to start with a house party at the end of August and was subsequently linked to a number of pubs. But we are now seeing a wide spread of cases across the city, which are not linked to a particular cluster or showing links with existing cases.

"The rise in cases in Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, and Newport means we have today made the difficult but necessary decision to introduce local restrictions in all of these areas to protect people’s health and to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"These measures will be the same as those that are already in place in Rhondda Cynon Taf.

"They will come into force from 6pm on Tuesday evening and will apply to everyone living in Bridgend county borough, Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr Tydfil, and Newport.

"The restrictions mean:

  • People will not be allowed to enter or leave those areas without a reasonable excuse, such as travel for work or education.
  • People will only be able to meet outdoors for the time being. People will not be able to meet members of an extended household indoors or form an extended household for the time being.
  • All licensed premises in these areas will have to close at 11pm.
  • Everyone over the age of 11 must wear face coverings in indoor public places – as in the rest of Wales.

"We will also be extending the requirement for all licensed premises to close at 11pm to the Caerphilly borough area following a request from local partners in Gwent for such targeted action.

"It also means that it is easy to understand what you can and can’t do in any of the areas subject to local restrictions because the rules will now all be the same.

"Guidance and frequently asked questions will be published on the Welsh Government website to help people understand what this means for them but of course there's already guidance available in respect of Rhondda Cynon Taf.

"Our ability to make a difference to the spread of the virus rests in all our hands – we will only make a difference if we all work together.

"Every one of us has a responsibility to make the right choices and to follow the measures, which will keep us and our loved ones safe from this infectious and harmful virus:

  • We all need to keep our distance from each other when we’re out and about
  • We need to wash our hands often
  • We need to work from home wherever possible
  • We need to wear a face covering in indoor public places
  • We need to stay at home if we’ve got symptoms and while we’re waiting for a test result
  • And we need to follow any restrictions that are in place locally"