Coronavirus: Wales' first local lockdown starts in Caerphilly

Caerphilly has gone into lockdown, becoming the first county in Wales to face tougher restrictions following a spike in Covid-19 cases.

No-one is allowed to leave the county without good reason, with stricter measures brought in from 18:00 BST.

Family and friends living apart are no longer able to meet indoors, stay overnight, or form extended households.

A senior police officer said Gwent Police was not planning to introduce roadblocks or cordons during lockdown.

Ch Supt Mark Hobrough said neighbourhood officers would talk to motorists and visit shops and businesses to ensure everyone was aware of the new rules, with enforcement the "last objective".

"We really do want the community to work with us in relation to this to be able to combat this infection and fight it off as soon as possible," he said.

The health minister said the restrictions would last until at least October, with a review in a fortnight.

Vaughan Gething said the case rate had risen to 72.9 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people - the highest rate in Wales and one of the highest in the UK.

The county, which has a population of 181,000, has had 132 people test positive in the last week.

Meanwhile, he said a UK-wide testing programme being used in Wales was facing "challenges" in meeting demand.

Mr Gething said he had been forced to act due to the increase in cases, after "social distancing had broken down in large parts".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that testing in Caerphilly found 4% of people were positive for coronavirus: "If we had testing positivity rates of 4% [across Wales], I think we would be into national lockdown."

Ahead of the latest figures, analysis by the BBC suggested Caerphilly had moved into the top 10 of hardest-hit local areas in the UK over the past week.

It was ranked at about the same level as Birmingham, Burnley, Rochdale and Salford. Bolton was top (122 cases per 100,000), followed by Bradford, Blackburn and Oldham.

Caerphilly has also seen one of the largest jumps in its case rate, compared to the previous week.

It has had more new cases in the past week - 132 - than anywhere else in Wales and more than the area has seen since the end of April.

Mr Gething said: "If we don't address the issue in Caerphilly, we'll see wider community transmission within the Caerphilly area but that will spread to other areas as well.

"We're in this position largely because social distancing has broken down and in particular people are socialising in each other's households in larger numbers."

He said not addressing the problem now could have "national consequences" and appealed for people to follow the rules: "It's for you, your family and the whole community."

Mr Gething said significant transmission "isn't taking place in pubs" but an element of it was people coming back from European travel, along with mixing with others in their homes, including house parties of up to 30 people.

People with reasonable causes, like needing to move house, could still leave the borough, he said, "but going from Caerphilly to Cardiff for a night out or to go to the gym isn't covered".

"If things deteriorate faster we may have to take more measures," he added, saying he "won't hesitate" to make it mandatory to wear face-coverings across Wales if necessary.

"We're in it for several weeks at least in Caerphilly. We expect the rate to rise in the next few days because community transmission has already taken place."

The lockdown would be reviewed in two weeks, the Welsh Government said.

Addressing the weekly coronavirus briefing at lunchtime, Mr Gething expressed fears coronavirus in younger people could "leap into" more vulnerable and older groups of people.

"Over the summer, we've seen an increase in the number of cases in people under 40 in Wales."

"At the moment it appears coronavirus is likely to be a milder illness for most people in this age group," he added, saying there is usually a lag of a couple of weeks before people are admitted to hospital.

Targeted testing had been carried out in Caerphilly and would be starting in the lower Rhondda valley where there was also a rise in cases, he said.

Mr Gething outlined how 13 cases of the virus were connected to a single trip to Ibiza taken by a group of friends last month: "Three of them came home with coronavirus. When they came home, one of the group passed the virus on to their partner and his father.

"Another person in the group had a party the day after coming home and four people caught coronavirus.

"One of these then passed the virus on to their brother who then passed it to a friend by sharing a car. Another party guest passed it on to their sister, who in turn infected a friend on a night out".

The local lockdown was announced on Monday, giving people less than 24 hours to prepare for the changes.

Under the new restrictions, listed at the Welsh Government website:

A reasonable excuse for travel includes for work, if you are not able to work from home, to go to school, or to give care.

People attend marriages and funeral services outside the county if they are invited, but are not allowed to go to receptions or wakes.

Residents can move house, and continue childcare arrangements where parents are not living together. Schools, pubs, bars and restaurants will remain open.

The rules will be kept under review, the first on 10 September and then again in the following 21 days.

The council and the police will have responsibility for enforcement, with fixed penalty notices of £60 for a first offence, doubling on each subsequent offence.

Gwent Police chief constable Pam Kelly said officers would be out in the community encouraging people to follow social distancing and the new regulations coming into force.

"Today we will be working to understand the new guidance and regulations and what enforcement action we can take for the few who do not comply with the new restrictions," she added.

While they may be just hours away from a return to lockdown shoppers in Caerphilly have not hesitated to get out and stock up ahead of tonight's deadline.

The high street is busy, shops are open and town centre car parks are full as people continue to go about their business.

There is a visible rise in the wearing of masks. Many shoppers are choosing to wear face coverings ahead of them being implemented in certain situations.

The shift has not been lost on local residents like, Roger Williams made a last-minute trip to the bank ahead the rule changes.

"There's more people wearing masks here than there has been in a long, long time" he says. "I can see the difference here," he said.

For shopkeepers like Joe Thomas the prospect of another downturn in business is a real threat to the town. "I think the town will probably collapse unless the government give businesses more help again she says".

Sarah Bruton, manager of Captiva Spa, said the spike showed Covid-19 was going to be "part of our lives for a very long time".

"It's going to be really tough for a lot of people. We've started to make plans to see family, to book holidays, in my case to rebuild our business and that's going to be taken away again," she added.

Michael Roberts, who runs Urban Bar BQ in Caerphilly town centre, closed his restaurant for indoor service on Thursday and is just offering takeaway.

"We're feeling that hopefully this is a step which will take us in the right direction towards getting over it," he said.

Caerphilly Labour Member of the Senedd Hefin David said more than 600 people messaged him on Monday asking for clarity on what the lockdown meant for things like gyms, leisure centres and hairdressers and moving to halls of residence.

"I am just trying to answer as many people's questions as I can," he told BBC Wales, adding that students would be fine to go off to university as it was classed as moving out of the borough.

"The biggest questions are about childcare," he added.

Community testing started in the county borough at the weekend. A total of 450 people were tested and 19 were found positive.

One class of 21 pupils at St Gwladys Primary School in Bargoed must stay at home after a member of staff tested positive for the virus, although the school remains open.

Caerphilly RFC has closed for two days for deep cleaning after a member who was at the club on Saturday tested positive.

Elsewhere, the Eden Centre said it was closing its soft play centres in Caerphilly and Blackwood due to the rise in cases.

Meanwhile, Great Western Railway has confirmed a member of staff in south Wales has tested positive for Covid-19, but has not specified where. Close contacts of the person are self-isolating, the company said.

No train services have been affected as a result of the diagnosis.

Giri Shankar, of Public Health Wales, appealed to everyone in the Caerphilly area to use a local testing unit at the town's leisure centre if they were experiencing "even the mildest" of symptoms or feeling "generally unwell with no explanation".