Coronavirus: Social distance plea in Caerphilly to avoid 'harsh lockdown'

Residents are being warned to increase social distancing to avoid "another harsh lockdown" after a spike in cases.

Caerphilly's Member of the Senedd, Hefin David, made the comments with 62 cases reported locally in the past week, the highest number in Wales.

A walk-in test centre opened outside Caerphilly Leisure Centre on Saturday for people with symptoms to get tested.

"This is in the hands of the community," Mr David told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"If people get back to serious social distancing, hand washing, limiting contact, we can get back to where we were.

"People have to take this seriously."

Visits to care homes in Caerphilly have stopped to protect residents following the increase in cases.

Mr David said the results from tests at the temporary centre "will guide what happens next and decisions that will be taken after that".

"The thing I desperately don't want to see is another harsh lockdown...as we had in March," he said.

"The only way we are going to avoid doing that is if we get back to that disciplined process that we had and were doing so well at."

On Friday, a health official blamed "having house parties and the like" for a rise in cases in Caerphilly town, Blackwood, and other areas.

"People have not been following social distancing rules," said Dr Robin Howe, from Public Health Wales.

The infection rate in Caerphilly over the past seven days has been recorded as 34.2 people per 100,000 population, the highest in Wales and far above the Welsh average of 8.4 per 100,000 people.

A further 14 cases were reported on Saturday in the county, taking the number of cases to 62.

Just below a quarter of the 264 new cases in Wales over the past week have been in Caerphilly.

The testing centre outside Caerphilly Leisure Centre is open 08:00-16:00 BST on Saturday and Sunday and until 18:00 on Monday and Tuesday.

"This temporary testing centre will help us learn more about the rate of infection in Caerphilly, and will help us protect the residents of Caerphilly and Gwent," said Mererid Bowley, interim director of Public Health for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.