New Coronavirus restrictions will become effective in Bangor from 6pm on Saturday, following a sharp rise in COVID-19 cases.
The measures, announced by First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford on Friday evening, will apply to everyone living in eight wards which make up the city of Bangor – Garth, Hirael, Menai, Deiniol, Marchog, Glyder, Hendre and Dewi.
The new restrictions are as follows;
- People will not be allowed to enter or leave the areas with local restrictions – exemptions will apply to those with a reasonable excuse, such as for travel to work or education
- People will only be allowed to meet people they don’t live with outdoors – people in these areas will not be able to form or be in extended households. Exemptions will allow people with a reasonable excuse to meet inside – such as for providing care to a vulnerable person.
All licenced premises will have to stop serving alcohol at 10pm and everyone over the age of 11 (except those exempt) will be required to wear face coverings in indoor places which are open to the public – as in the rest of Wales.
Announcing the measures, Mr Drakeford said;
“We have worked closely with the local authority, the police in North Wales and public health experts to assess the need for local restrictions. We all agree about the need to take targeted action in Bangor.
“We want to discuss the wider situation in Gwynedd in more detail tomorrow to decide whether we need to extend local restrictions more widely across the county area.
“While large parts of Wales are now subject to local restrictions, I want to be clear – this is not a national lockdown. These are a series of local restrictions to respond to rises in cases in individual areas.
The new measures, which have already been applied in other local lockdown areas in Wales, come as the case rate in Bangor has risen to 400 cases per 100,000 people. Many of the cases have been linked to young people and the student population, according to the Welsh Government.
The new measures also come following extensive discussions between the Welsh Government and the local authority, Bangor University, the NHS, North Wales Police and public health experts about the situation in the county of Gwynedd about the need for local restrictions in Bangor.
