A NEW national lockdown was announced in Wales yesterday - but figures show that just ten of the country's local authorities have a higher coronavirus rate than the UK average.
Only one of Gwent's five counties, Blaenau Gwent, is suffering from the coronavirus more than the average across the UK.
A government map, detailing the impact of the coronavirus in each local authority across the UK, shows that Newport, Monmouthshire, Torfaen and Caerphilly all have lower incidence rates than the average in the UK.
The map is based on the seven day rolling average of cases up to October 13.
In that period Blaenau Gwent has a rate of 177.5 cases per 100,000 people.
In comparison, Monmouthshire's rate was 68.7 per 100,000 people, well below the UK average.
Newport, at 75.0 per 100,000, and Torfaen, at 81.9 per 100,000, also fell comfortably below the average mark.
Caerphilly also falls below the UK average, but is nearer the mark with a rate of 128.7 cases per 100,000 people.
The worst hit area in Wales according to the map is Cardiff, with 300.9 per 100,000 people.
However, that is still well below areas like Knowsley near Liverpool, which has a rate of 711.2 per 100,000 people.
On Friday, Wales will enter the two week circuit breaker lockdown, as the Welsh Government try to slow the spread of the coronavirus in Wales.
Announcing the plans yesterday, first minister Mark Drakeford said: “It is with a heavy heart that I once again ask everyone to stay at home and businesses to shut.
“We are all tired of coronavirus and the many rules and regulations we all have to live with. We all want to see an end to this pandemic and our lives returned to us.
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"Unfortunately, we do not yet have a vaccine, which will allow us to do that.
“This fire-break is our best chance of regaining control of the virus and avoiding a much-longer – and damaging – national lockdown.
"We have a small window of opportunity to act.
“To be successful, we need everyone’s help. Wales has shown throughout this pandemic that we can come together and take the actions to keep our families and our communities safe.
“We must come together once again to stay ahead of this virus and to save lives.”
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