Rhondda Cynon Taf to go into local lockdown amid rise in cases

Local lockdown measures are to be imposed in the Welsh county of Rhondda Cynon Taf after a rise in coronavirus cases.

The new restrictions will come into effect at 6pm on Thursday, 17 September, Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething confirmed.
They are being brought in after two key clusters of cases were identified at “a rugby club and pub in the lower Rhondda” and “a club outing to the Doncaster races, which stopped off at a series of pubs on the way”.
People will not be allowed to enter or leave the area “without a reasonable excuse”. Households will no longer be able to meet each other indoors or form an extended household, health bosses said.
Restaurants, pubs, cafes and all other hospitality premises will have to close at 11pm.
Rhondda Cynon Taf is the second area of Wales to face tighter coronavirus rules after Caerphilly went into local lockdown a week ago.
Figures show the seven-day infection rate for RCT is 82.1 per 100,000 people, with a positivity rate of 4.3% – the highest in Wales.
The Welsh health minister blamed the spike in COVID-19 cases on “people socialising indoors and not following social distancing guidelines”.

Mr Gething said: “We have seen a rapid rise in cases in Rhondda Cynon Taf in a very short space of time, linked to people socialising indoors and not following social distancing guidelines.
“We now have evidence of wider community transmission in the borough, which means we need to take urgent action to control and, ultimately, reduce the spread of the virus and protect people’s health.

“We need the help of everyone across Wales to prevent the increasing and onward spread of coronavirus. We can bring coronavirus under control if everyone pulls together and follows the rules we have put in place.
“Coronavirus has not gone away. It is still circulating in communities across Wales. Its vital people stick to the rules.”

Here is Pontypridd MP Alex Davies Jones speaking to GTFM shortly after the announcement

Reaction from the Pontypridd representative from the Liberal Democrats Steven Rajam