[ad_1]
Dozens of walkers circumvented social distancing guidelines as they queued to reach the top of Mount Snowdon this weekend despite the Welsh government urging people to avoid all unnecessary travel.
Hikers huddled in queues as they approached the top of Wales’s tallest mountain, found in Snowdonia National Park, in an effort to capture a picture of themselves at the top.
The scenes come just hours after it was revealed that 60 percent of the Welsh population will be under lockdown as of tomorrow, after three more council areas are added to the government’s list.
This weekend, regular walkers were shocked after hundreds of people descended to the famous peak with their climbing gear despite coronavirus warnings.
Hundreds of walkers queued to reach the top of Mount Snowdon in Wales this weekend despite strict coronavirus rules.
Hikers in their climbing gear meandered down the mountain in an effort to reach the top of Mount Snowdon, which is located in Snowdonia National Park.
Crowds of walkers circumvented social distancing guidelines when they gathered near the top of the mountain this weekend.
Arwyn Roberts of Llangefni, who climbs the peak once a week, said he was “quite shocked” by the scenes, describing how the tail stretched 200 to 300 meters.
He told North Wales Live: ‘I managed to find a place to park and had planned to take a quieter route up the mountain, but there were no quieter routes.
“ I usually go up the mountain first thing in the morning and I haven’t been there on the weekend for a long time so I was quite surprised by what I saw.
Even from below you could see the line of people that stretched up the mountain from the top. The queue was already 200 to 300 meters when I reached the top. ‘
The scenes come as 60 percent of the Welsh population faces a local lockdown tomorrow after some 362 new coronavirus cases were reported in Wales in the past 24 hours alone, bringing the total to 22,945.
Neath Port Talbot, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan will be covered by the rules, which means that people will not be able to enter or leave the areas without a reasonable excuse starting at 6:00 pm on Monday.
Residents will not be able to gather indoors with anyone they do not live with, with extended homes suspended.
The announcement comes just hours before local closure restrictions take effect in Cardiff and Swansea, the two largest cities in Wales, on Sunday night.
It comes as 60 per cent of the Welsh population faces a local shutdown starting tomorrow after three more council areas are added to the Government’s list. Pictured: Cars at a drive-thru coronavirus testing station in Ebbw Vale in Wales
New measures were also introduced at Llanelli in Carmarthenshire on Saturday night.
Restrictions already exist at Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, and Rhondda Cynon Taff.
It means that more than 1.8 million people in Wales, almost 60 percent of the population, will be under local lockdown as of Monday night.
Wales Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said in a statement: “ Following a worrying rise in coronavirus cases in South Wales, we took action on Friday to introduce local coronavirus restrictions in Llanelli and local restrictions will take effect in our two biggest cities, Cardiff and Swansea, tonight.
‘We are now taking further action and placing three more areas under local restrictions in South Wales – Neath Port Talbot, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan – because we are seeing increased rates in these three areas. These areas also share borders with local authority areas where rates are much higher.
“Introducing restrictions anywhere in Wales is always an incredibly difficult decision for us to make. But we are acting to protect people’s health and to try to break the chain of transmission and prevent the situation from getting worse.
“This is not a regional blockade, it is a series of local restrictions in each area of local authority to respond to a specific increase in cases in each area, which have different and unique transmission chains.
‘In some places, like Caerphilly and Newport, we’ve seen really positive drops in response and we hope they can start to relax if they continue.
‘It is really important that everyone follows the rules of the place where they live. We need everyone’s help to control the coronavirus. We need everyone to come together and follow the measures that exist to protect you and your loved ones. ‘
Earlier this week, the prime minister laid down a series of measures designed to clamp down on the disease, including imposing a 10 p.m. curfew on all pubs, bars and restaurants in England and limiting the number of invited to a wedding at 15.
The prime minister said it was necessary to reintroduce measures to avoid a dramatic increase in deaths and a second, economically devastating total lockdown.
Under the new measures, plans for a partial return of sports fans to stadiums from October 1 have been ‘paused’ while the number of people authorized to attend weddings is reduced to 15.
Johnson also announced an end to the government’s back-to-work campaign, urging Britons to work from home if they can.
Masks will also need to be used in public transportation and in many indoor spaces, including stores, shopping malls, indoor transportation hubs, museums, galleries, movie theaters, and public libraries.
Just hours after laying down the new measures, the prime minister issued an emotional plea to the nation, warning the British that they faced a long and harsh winter of police-imposed restrictions on their freedom to end the coronavirus.
He also lashed out at his critics, including conservative MPs and business leaders who warned of the economic impact of the tough measures, adding: ‘For those who say we don’t need these things, and we should let people take their own risks, I say that these risks are not ours.
‘The tragic reality of having Covid is that your mild cough can be someone else’s knockout.
‘And as for the suggestion that we should just lock up the elderly and vulnerable, with all the suffering that would entail, I must tell you that this is simply not realistic.
“Because if you let the virus spread to the rest of the population, it would inevitably reach the elderly as well, and in much greater numbers.”
