THE local lockdown in Caerphilly borough is set to affect a number of areas – and thousands of people. Here are all of the places that will come under the Caerphilly lockdown and everything we know so far.

Where are the affected places?

In short, the places will be anywhere that is covered by the Caerphilly County Borough Council. This includes:

  • Caerphilly town
  • Pontymister
  • Risca
  • Crosskeys
  • Wattsville
  • Cwmcarn
  • Abercarn
  • Newbridge
  • Pontywaun
  • Ty-Sign
  • Blackwood
  • Crumlin
  • Pentwynmawr
  • Oakdale
  • Pontllanfraith
  • Mynyddislwyn
  • Cwmfelinfach
  • Rhymney
  • New Tredegar
  • Bargoed
  • Aberbargoed
  • Bedwas
  • Nelson
  • St Cenydd
  • Ystrad Mynach
  • Maesycwmmer

This is a non-exhaustive list of the towns and villages that are affected, the smaller villages not listed but reside in the Caerphilly borough are also included.

What does this mean?

From 6pm tomorrow, Tuesday, September 8, there will be restrictions in place in all the above towns and villages to comply with the local lockdown. These include:

  • No travel outside of the borough. From the guidance in the initial Welsh Government announcement, travel is allowed in the borough, but not outside of the borough unless there is good reason. This is not elaborated on and therefore is open to interpretation, but they have confirmed that going to work is allowed if you are unable to work from home.
  • Anyone over the age of 11 must wear masks while in shops. If you are exempt from the wearing of masks on public transport, then you are also exempt from this.
  • No indoor meetings. The rule on meeting people indoors – whether they are your extended family, friends, part of your extended household or bubbles that were formed at the latter part of the Wales-wide lockdown.

Currently, schools, pubs, restaurants and other venues remain open, although this may change tomorrow as Caerphilly County Borough Council are awaiting further information from the Welsh Government in terms of the exact rules and regulations, which they hope to have and provide to the public prior to the 6pm lockdown starting.

 

Prior to the lockdown, the council had banned care home visits and put weekly testing for care home workers in place. A pop-up testing centre was also created in Caerphilly town.

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Why is a local lockdown needed?

Over the past week, cases of coronavirus in the Caerphilly area have risen quickly, with a total of 133 announced over the past seven days. This saw Caerphilly have the highest rate of infections per 100,000 population in Wales – at 55.4.

Just today, 31 new cases were announced in Caerphilly. 

It is linked to a lack of social distancing and an increase in holiday travel abroad, alongside people socialising indoors.

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Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: “We have seen a significant rise in cases in Caerphilly borough over a very short space of time, which are linked to holiday travel abroad and people socialising indoors and not following social distancing guidelines.

“A lot of these cases are in younger people and thankfully, at the moment, most of these are mild. But coronavirus is now circulating in the community and it’s only a matter of time before we start to see more serious cases, which need hospital treatment.

“We need the help of everyone in Caerphilly borough to prevent the increasing and onward spread of coronavirus. We can only bring this local outbreak under control if everyone pulls together and follows these new steps.

“If we do not see cases falling, we may need to take further steps to bring this local outbreak under control.”

Councillor Philippa Marsden, leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council said: 

“We need to create a break in the cycle of infection we are seeing in Caerphilly borough at the moment and unfortunately that means introducing new, tougher restrictions.

“I would urge everyone living in the area to follow these new measures; to follow the social distancing guidelines and to wash their hands regularly. If we all work together, we can bring this outbreak under control and reduce cases of the virus.” 

We will bring you more information as soon as it is available. Head to our coronavirus live blog for more updates.