Caerphilly County placed in Local Lockdown

7 September 2020, 19:00 | Updated: 7 September 2020, 19:10

People living in Caerphilly County Borough will need to follow tightened Coronavirus restrictions in an attempt to reduce the number of new infections in the area

It's the first "local lockdown" of its kind in Wales and follows a rapid increase in the number of confirmed cases in coronavirus, which the Welsh Government say have been linked to clusters of people meeting indoors, not following social distancing guidelines in the borough and summer holidays overseas.

What are the new rules?

From 6pm on Tuesday 7th September:

People will not be allowed to enter or leave the Caerphilly County Borough Council area without a reasonable excuse

Everyone over 11 will be required to wear face coverings in shops

People will only be able to meet outdoors – meetings with other people indoors and extended households will not be allowed for the time being. No overnight stays will be allowed.

The travel restrictions will mean people cannot enter or leave Caerphilly County Borough Council area without a reasonable excuse – this includes work if they are unable to work from home, or making a compassionate visit to a loved one or to give care.

As is stands no businesses in the area will be required to close and schools will continue to be open.

Announcing the new rules, Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething said:

“We have seen a significant rise in cases in Caerphilly borough over a very short space of time, which are linked to holiday travel abroad and people socialising indoors and not following social distancing guidelines.

A lot of these cases are in younger people and thankfully, at the moment, most of these are mild. But coronavirus is now circulating in the community and it’s only a matter of time before we start to see more serious cases, which need hospital treatment.

We need the help of everyone in Caerphilly borough to prevent the increasing and onward spread of coronavirus. We can only bring this local outbreak under control if everyone pulls together and follows these new steps.

If we do not see cases falling, we may need to take further steps to bring this local outbreak under control.”