More parts of South Wales will face local restrictions from Monday evening in response to a growing spread of COVID-19 cases.
New restrictions will apply to everyone living in Neath Port Talbot, the Vale of Glamorgan and Torfaen from 6pm on Monday 28 September.
The new restrictions for these areas 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 alochol 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.
Localised restirctions already exist in seven other areas of South Wales including Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly borough, Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Merthyr Tydfil borough, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Newport. The announcement of the new restrictions also comes just hours before local restrictions come into force in Cardiff and Swansea at 6pm on Sunday evening.
The restrictions in different parts of South Wales are the same in each local authority, however the Welsh Government has said that this does not mean that people from one local area under local restrictions can travel to another area under local restrictions without a reasonable excuse.
Announcing the new restrictions to take effect in Neath Port Talbot, the Vale of Glamorgan and Torfaen from 6pm on Monday, First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford said;
“It’s really important everyone follows the rules where they live. We need everyone’s help to bring coronavirus under control. We need everyone to pull together and to follow the measures which are there to protect you and your loved ones.”
Cases in South Wales are generally much higher than in North Wales currently, however, there is some evidence that the virus is spreading in some parts of the North of the country.
