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Cardiff and Swansea going into local lockdown with people told not to enter or leave

CARDIFF, WALES - SEPTEMBER 23: A man and woman wear surgical face masks on Queen Street on September 23, 2020 in Cardiff, Wales. Four more counties in south Wales went into local lockdown this week, leaving more than a quarter of the Welsh population under tighter restrictions. Merthyr Tydfil, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent and Newport now have the same restrictions as Rhondda Cynon Taf and Caerphilly where people cannot leave except for a limited number of exemptions. Additionally,  pubs and bars will need to shut before 10pm.  (Photo by Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
Shoppers in Cardiff, which will go into a local lockdown on Sunday. (Matthew Horwood/Getty Images)
  • Wales’ two biggest cities to go into lockdown from Sunday evening

  • People will not be able to enter or leave without reasonable excuse

  • Government warns against weekend “blowouts” before restrictions come into force

  • Visit the Yahoo homepage for more stories

Cardiff and Swansea will go into local lockdown from 6pm on Sunday, the Welsh government has announced.

Under the restrictions, people will not be able to enter or leave the areas without a reasonable excuse.

They will not be able to meet indoors with anyone they do not live with, with extended households suspended.

People must work from home when possible, health minister Vaughan Gething told a press conference in Cardiff.

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Gething warned people in both cities not to have a “big blowout” over the weekend before restrictions come into force at 6pm on Sunday.

He also clarified students will be able to travel into Cardiff and Swansea to attend university. “Coming for work or education is a reasonable excuse for travel.”

Meanwhile, the town of Llanelli will also go into local lockdown on Saturday at 6pm.

He said the Welsh government was acting on a more localised basis for the first time in Llanelli “because the transmission of coronavirus is concentrated on the town itself”.

With 50% of Wales’ population now under restrictions, Gething told reporters: “Introducing restrictions in any parts of Wales is always an incredibly difficult decision for us to make.

“Having to introduce these restrictions in our biggest cities, including our capital, is another sombre milestone in a difficult year.

“We’re acting to protect people’s health and to try and break the chain of transmission and stop the situation from getting worse.”

In England, meanwhile, Leeds is likely to face new restrictions from midnight in the fight against COVID-19, including a ban on households mixing in private homes.

Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake said she expected the city will be made an “area of intervention”, while the leader for public health said the restrictions could last through winter.

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