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| Covid lockdown for Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent | Covid lockdown for Newport, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Blaenau Gwent |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Four more counties in south Wales will go into lockdown from 18:00 BST on Tuesday, meaning more than a quarter of the Welsh population will be under tighter restrictions. | Four more counties in south Wales will go into lockdown from 18:00 BST on Tuesday, meaning more than a quarter of the Welsh population will be under tighter restrictions. |
| Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport will have the same restrictions as Rhondda Cynon Taf. | Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport will have the same restrictions as Rhondda Cynon Taf. |
| People will not be able to enter or leave those areas except for a limited number of exemptions, such as work. | People will not be able to enter or leave those areas except for a limited number of exemptions, such as work. |
| Licensed premises like pubs will need to shut by 23:00 every night. | Licensed premises like pubs will need to shut by 23:00 every night. |
| People will only be able to meet others not in their own household outdoors - meetings with people from their extended households indoors will be banned in the four areas. | People will only be able to meet others not in their own household outdoors - meetings with people from their extended households indoors will be banned in the four areas. |
| The pub rule will also be extended to Caerphilly county borough, which was put under local restrictions last week. | The pub rule will also be extended to Caerphilly county borough, which was put under local restrictions last week. |
| The new measures affect 431,000 people, meaning that just over 850,000 people in Wales will be under local lockdown from Tuesday. | The new measures affect 431,000 people, meaning that just over 850,000 people in Wales will be under local lockdown from Tuesday. |
| Health Minister Vaughan Gething said Monday's extension followed rises in Covid-19 cases in the four counties. | Health Minister Vaughan Gething said Monday's extension followed rises in Covid-19 cases in the four counties. |
| What does local lockdown mean? | What does local lockdown mean? |
| If you live in one of the six counties affected, the rules mean you cannot visit or leave the areas affected without a "reasonable excuse". | If you live in one of the six counties affected, the rules mean you cannot visit or leave the areas affected without a "reasonable excuse". |
| That can include: | That can include: |
| Motorists can continue to travel through the areas on the M4 and other roads. | Motorists can continue to travel through the areas on the M4 and other roads. |
| Could there be wider regional restrictions? | Could there be wider regional restrictions? |
| At a press conference Mr Gething said he would hold "an urgent meeting" on Tuesday with councils, health boards and police forces from Bridgend to the English border. | At a press conference Mr Gething said he would hold "an urgent meeting" on Tuesday with councils, health boards and police forces from Bridgend to the English border. |
| It will discuss the wider regional situation and whether further measures are needed. | It will discuss the wider regional situation and whether further measures are needed. |
| Earlier, senior UK government advisers warned of a "six-month problem" of rising cases. | |
| Mr Gething said he could not "definitively" give a timescale of how long lockdown measures would be needed. | Mr Gething said he could not "definitively" give a timescale of how long lockdown measures would be needed. |
| He said "all-Wales" measures may be needed to tackle the virus. | He said "all-Wales" measures may be needed to tackle the virus. |
| But Mr Gething said such action may be short of the full lockdown imposed on 23 March. | But Mr Gething said such action may be short of the full lockdown imposed on 23 March. |
| A call between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford is expected to take place on Monday afternoon. | A call between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford is expected to take place on Monday afternoon. |
| Mr Gething said it may be the case that UK-wide measures would be taken, adding the call would be a "helpful step forward". | Mr Gething said it may be the case that UK-wide measures would be taken, adding the call would be a "helpful step forward". |
| The health minister said the incidence rate in Merthyr Tydfil was high, but cases appeared to be mainly focused around two distinct clusters, linked to a large employer and a pub. | The health minister said the incidence rate in Merthyr Tydfil was high, but cases appeared to be mainly focused around two distinct clusters, linked to a large employer and a pub. |
| What is happening in the four areas? | What is happening in the four areas? |
| Bridgend was a "growing concern", the minister said, because there had been a sharp rise in cases in a short space of time. | Bridgend was a "growing concern", the minister said, because there had been a sharp rise in cases in a short space of time. |
| "We have identified a small number of clusters in Bridgend borough, but we are worried the pattern is similar to what we have seen in Rhondda Cynon Taf". | "We have identified a small number of clusters in Bridgend borough, but we are worried the pattern is similar to what we have seen in Rhondda Cynon Taf". |
| Newport is seeing "a wide spread of cases across the city, which are not linked to a particular cluster or showing links with existing cases". | Newport is seeing "a wide spread of cases across the city, which are not linked to a particular cluster or showing links with existing cases". |
| In Blaenau Gwent, Mr Gething said there had been 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 Blaenau Gwent, Mr Gething said there had been 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. |
| What is the political reaction? | What is the political reaction? |
| Welsh Conservative health spokesman Andrew RT Davies called for "smart, hyper-local lockdowns". | Welsh Conservative health spokesman Andrew RT Davies called for "smart, hyper-local lockdowns". |
| "Ministers and governments must do everything possible to avoid another blanket national lockdown as the other public health and economic impacts would be disastrous," he 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," he said. |
| His Plaid Cymru counterpart Helen Mary Jones called for furlough to be extended to support local lockdowns. | His Plaid Cymru counterpart Helen Mary Jones called for furlough to be extended to support local lockdowns. |
| "If Westminster won't extend furlough scheme to support local lockdowns, then the Welsh Government needs to look at what support they might be able to provide," she said. | "If Westminster won't extend furlough scheme to support local lockdowns, then the Welsh Government needs to look at what support they might be able to provide," she said. |