Caerphilly local lockdown will need a 'community effort' to 'make a difference' following spike in covid cases

The MS for Caerphilly, Hefin David, has told ITV Wales that it will take a 'community effort' from everyone to make a difference after a local lockdown was imposed on the borough following a spike in coronavirus cases.

There have been 98 new cases of the virus in Caerphilly in the last seven days.

The Health Minister Vaughan Gething announced on Monday that the borough would go into a local lockdown, with people not allowed to enter or leave the area without a 'reasonable excuse'.

The Health Minister also announced that anyone over the age of 11 would have to wear face coverings in shops and that people will only be able to meet outdoors, with meetings with extended households not allowed for the time being.

A testing centre has been set up in a local leisure centre in Caerphilly. Credit: PA Images

Hefin David MS told ITV Wales: "We've seen a rise in cases in Caerphilly over the past week and the Chief Medical Officer has given advice to the council and the government that we need to have minimum restrictions introduced and those restrictions meaning don't leave the county unless you have to, that does allow you to go out for work or to study, to wear face masks in shops and to end the connected households so you don't mix with extended households.

"Those restrictions are the very minimum restrictions to try and bring this outbreak under control. In doing so, we aim to protect and we all aim together to protect the most vulnerable and the elderly in our community, because if the virus starts spreading to those people, that's when things get very very difficult.

"These are the minimum number of restrictions that will help us get that under control. I think we've also got to find the discipline that we had, keep social distancing two metres, keep washing our hands, find that discipline we had over those six months of the more severe lockdown that we had.

"I want to see restrictions kept to a minimum, so therefore if we can stick to these and stick to social distancing then we can get this under control and over the next two weeks we won't see restrictions go any further, but it really needs a community effort, it needs all of us to muck in to make sure that we make that difference."

People were seen queuing up outside a coronavirus testing centre in Caerphilly. Credit: PA Images

New measures of local lockdown in Caerphilly:

A range of new measures will come into force on Tuesday at 6pm in a bid to reduce the number of new coronavirus infections.

  • 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.