[ad_1]
Four more areas in North Wales are being blocked locally following a surge in coronavirus cases, the Health Minister said.
Vaughan Gething said the measures for Denbighshire, Flintshire, Conwy and Wrexham would affect another half a million people.
From 6:00 p.m. on Thursday:
- People will not be allowed to enter or leave each of these areas without a reasonable excuse, such as traveling for work or education.
- People will only be able to meet people with whom they are not living outdoors at the moment. They will not be able to form or be in extended homes.
Twelve of the 22 Welsh local authorities they are already under special measures.
However, adding four more areas will mean roughly three-quarters of the country and more than 2.3 million people will be affected.
The worst hit of the new regions on the list is Flintshire, which recorded 40.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the latest weekly figures.
Gething said: “Unfortunately, we have seen an increase in coronavirus cases in four North Wales local authority areas – in Denbighshire, Flintshire, Wrexham and Conwy.
“These are largely related to people socializing indoors and are a transmission pattern similar to what we have seen in South Wales.
“We have worked closely with the leaders of local authorities and the police in North Wales and we all agree on the need to take swift action to control the spread of the virus.”
The increase in cases in all four areas is said to be related to people gathering indoors, not following social distancing, and returning from vacation abroad with the virus.
366 new virus cases were reported in Wales on Tuesday and three more deaths, according to Public Health Wales.
It brings the total of cases to 23,597 and deaths to 1,615.
Across the UK, cases rose to their highest level since the pandemic began with another 7,143 tests positive and 71 more people dying from coronavirus.
Cases have risen significantly, but the number is still much lower than the peak of the pandemic in the spring when there was no testing in the community.
Scientists have estimated that around 100,000 per day were infected then.
The new restrictions in Wales come as the country’s Prime Minister Mark Drakeford wrote to Boris Johnson asking him to urgently consider travel restrictions in areas of England with high infection rates.
He said people in those areas pose a risk that they may travel long distances “spreading the virus far beyond their locality.”
“I ask that you urgently consider introducing travel restrictions similar to what we have here in Wales in the current high infection areas of England,” he wrote.
