Four new areas of Wales enter local lockdowns from Thursday

More than 500,000 people in North Wales put in local lockdown as most of country are now banned from visiting family and friends.

From 6pm on Thursday, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Conwy and Wrexham will be subject to tighter lockdown restrictions. The areas, with a population of over 500,000, join most of south Wales under a local lockdown as new infections across the country soared.

Under the new restrictions, more than 500,000 people will now not be allowed to leave their local area without a “reasonable excuse” – such as travel for work or education. Members of the public will only be able to meet people from other households outdoors. Local residents of the four areas will not be able to form, or be part of, extended households. In areas of local lockdown, extended households or ‘bubbles’ no longer exist in – even if everyone in the bubble lives in the same area.

The new measures will affect over 500,000 people, bringing the number of people in Wales under lockdown to more than 2.4 million. Since September 8, sixteen areas in Wales have faced more restrictions to help reduce the spread of the virus.

Vaughan Gething, The Welsh Health Minister, said the decision was not an easy one.

“It’s always difficult to make the decision to impose restrictions but we hope that these measures will make a positive difference – just as we have seen in Caerphilly and Newport, where local residents have pulled together and followed the rules. It is important we all work together and support each other. This isn’t just about protecting ourselves, it’s about protecting each other.”

The new restrictions follow a rapid increase in the number of cases of coronavirus, which have been linked to people meeting indoors, they have reportedly not been following social distancing guidelines after returning from summer holidays overseas.

As of Tuesday, three more people died with coronavirus and 366 new cases of coronavirus were confirmed. Rhondda Cynon Taf and Cardiff reported the highest number of new cases within the last 24 hours.

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