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A spike in coronavirus cases in Newport appears to have been caused in part by a party over the holiday weekend in late August.
Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething told a news conference on Monday that a rapid increase in cases had been seen in Newport, and that one party appeared to be “at the center of it all.”
He claimed that the party led to 18 new cases of coronavirus, and many of these people visited different places “while they were infected.”
Gething said: “In Newport, we are seeing a rapid increase in cases, following a pattern similar to that in Caerphilly district.
“There appears to be a party downtown over the holiday weekend, resulting in 18 new coronavirus cases, many of which visited other locations in the evenings while infectious.
“Welsh Public Health [on Sunday] asked people who had visited a list of bars and pubs in the city to be aware of the symptoms of the coronavirus. ”
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Newport, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf are areas of Wales where cases are increasing “dramatically”.
As of Sunday, Caerphilly, subjected to a local lockdown last week, remained the area of Wales with the highest number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants at 85, followed by Merthyr Tydfil with 56.4, Newport with 43.3 and Rhondda Cynon Taf with 48.5.
For comparison, Wales’ weekly infection rate rose to 21.4 per 100,000 people on Sunday, up from 20.3 the day before and after the rate at which a quarantine would be imposed in a foreign country.
Commenting on actions that could be taken to slow the spread of the virus, Gething said: “We are working closely with each of the local authorities and public health experts to understand these increases and put measures in place to control the spread of the virus. virus.”
“There are many similarities between the climbs in each of the areas, including socializing indoors and at home without social distancing and imported cases of vacation travel.”
He added: “We are also updating our Coronavirus Control Plan to increase the range of measures we have to respond to local outbreaks. These include actions, which have been introduced in other parts of the UK, Ireland and beyond.
“These include the possible introduction of curfews, restriction of the sale of alcohol and changes in the operations of the pub, including shorter opening hours or only selling alcohol with food.”
It comes after Mr Gething revealed that closing all pubs in Newport was an option the Welsh government was considering to control the spread of the virus. Admitting this was the “simplest option,” other options include closing pubs early or allowing customers to only enter if they are ordering food, which would prevent punters from visiting multiple venues in one day.
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