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There is a sense of déjà vu in the Pontypridd indoor market.
The blinds are closed, the chairs and tables are empty, the cafes and stalls are closed.
Mary Coleman and her husband are turning off the lights in their baby clothing store as we walk to chat.
Non-essential retail has been forced to close
As a non-essential retailer, they are forbidden to trade.
“Absolutely devastated. October and November are my best business months of the year for my business,” Mary tells me.
“Two weeks have been taken from me, we started to build the business since the last closing and I feel like we have taken two steps forward and six backward,” he adds.
Looking around the empty market, Mary says that this place is more than just shopping: “There are a lot of lonely people, what they get lost is a little comfort from their families. Many people come to the market to socialize with people because they have no one else, it’s pretty devastating. “
Pontypridd was already under local lockdown restrictions, but now all of Wales is in the same boat.
Across the street from the market, The Patriot’s regulars made the most of the last few orders before the door closed at 6 p.m.
The Patriot pub owner says lockdown will cost £ 16k
Owner Neil Davies told Sky News that this 17-day lockdown will cost him £ 16k, but he fears there may be another, and his eyes are on Christmas.
“Christmas is a very busy time for us and we cannot host as many people as we would like,” he says. “The thing is, it’s hurting our industry enormously. There are a lot of pubs in the city here, and a lot of pubs will be closing and not going through this pandemic.”
By the time the confinement begins, it is quite dark on Pontypridd’s main street.
For the handful of locals heading home, there is a feeling this won’t be the last time they are told to stay home.
“I hope it doesn’t last until Christmas because people like to go to other homes, but if it has to happen, it has to happen, right?” Sophie tells me.
Kieran is convinced that there will be another blockade: “If you look at what happened in March, they said four weeks and it was three months, I think it will be more than two weeks.”
I ask him how that makes him feel: “C ** p. Lose job, lose every man.”
One old man agreed that this firewall will not be enough to fight the virus: “Even if it lasts two weeks, I don’t think it will be enough, it will be just a little problem and we will all think ‘oh, it’s gone now’, and come closer to Christmas, here we go again. “
The Welsh government says it will be a few weeks after November 9 before the country sees what achievements the firewall will bring; until then the people of Pontypridd and the whole country are back home.
