Posted: Thu 1st Oct 2020

Wrexham starts “local lockdown” measures as cases per 100k figure rises to 59.6

Wrexham.com for people living in or visiting the Wrexham area
This article is old - Published: Thursday, Oct 1st, 2020

Wrexham has 59.6 cases per 100,000 in the latest statistics released by Public Health Wales as the county borough area enter a ‘local lockdown’ as of 6pm.

Today’s figures cover the seven day rolling period up to the 28th of September, and show 59.6 cases per 100,000 people with a positivity rate of tests of 4.9%. On Tuesday that figure was 33.1 per 100k, and yesterday 43.5 per 100k. (You can view the raw data here).

Wrexham now has the highest cases per 100k and highest positive proportion rate on the seven day figures out of all North Wales counties – a position vastly different from figures a week ago.

On the day on day figures Wrexham has seen +25 new cases, and a positive proportion rate of 8.6% for tests. That is the highest reported cases per day since June 25th. On Monday +5 cases were reported by Public Health Wales, however in the raw data today that figure is now +20.

New images have been released by Wrexham Council (copied above and below) as of 6pm explaining the ‘alert’ for Wrexham. The local health board have also published a graphic on their “local lockdown” page.

Wrexham Council said tonight, “We are not just talking about numbers on a chart. These figures represent real people in our community, and sadly there’s a chance that some of them might become very ill.”

“This underlines why introducing extra local restrictions in Wrexham from 6pm tonight is the right thing to do.”

Welsh Government have published a Q&A on what the restrictions mean for the area on their site, entitled “Wrexham County Borough lockdown: frequently asked questions”, with the main points being:

  • People will not be allowed to enter or leave the Wrexham County Borough Council area without a reasonable excuse
  • People will no longer be able to form, or be in, an extended household (sometimes called a “bubble”)
  • This means meeting indoors with anyone who is not part of your household (people you live with) is not allowed at the moment, unless you have a good reason, such as providing care to a vulnerable person
  • All licensed premises have to stop serving alcohol at 10pm
  • People must work from home wherever possible

Shops, restaurants, pubs and cinemas will remain open. However under the measures you would not be able to visit them with anyone outside of your household.

Yesterday we spoke with Health Minister Vaughan Gething and North Wales Minister Ken Skates. They detailed the decision making process around the lockdown, why it was different from Rowan Foods and the Hospital outbreaks, what has changed in Wrexham in such a short time, the review periods, and how we emerge from the measures  – read their responses here.

Wrexham’s MS Lesley Griffiths has said today, “Before making this difficult decision, Wales’ First Minister, Health Minister and the Minister for North Wales met with local authority leaders, the police, the NHS and public health experts to discuss the rise in coronavirus in parts of North Wales.”

“Throughout this pandemic, the Welsh Government has adopted a cautious approach and the health and wellbeing of the public has always been its primary concern.  People will be aware in recent weeks local restrictions have been introduced in many areas in South Wales.  After studying the latest data, a similar pattern of transmission can be seen across most of North Wales.  Sadly, the virus is spreading within the communities and cases are expected to rise in the days ahead.  The Welsh Government has learnt from these comparable incidents and has intervened early to avoid additional harm and to prevent further escalation.”

“I recognise the announcement may have come as a shock to local residents.  I understand it may be disruptive and an inconvenience to many but people must follow the new rules as they are ultimately in place to protect your health, the health of your loved ones and the local community.”

“Many constituents have contacted me highlighting the issue that English residents are currently allowed to travel into Wales but people in many Welsh counties are being told to stay in their locality The Welsh Government has no control over the English regulations.  It’s up the Prime Minister to tell people in England not to travel to Wales and the First Minister, Mark Drakeford has written to the PM requesting he advises people not to travel from restricted areas of England, as we have done here in Wales.  To date, no response has been received.”

Council Leader Mark Pritchard said tonight “The upward trend is stark, and the figures – which are based on a rolling seven-day period – once again show that Wrexham has done the right thing by acting quickly and introducing extra restrictions along with Flintshire, Denbighshire and Conwy.”

“Many people are frustrated about the extra measures that come into force tonight, and I completely understand that. The world is in a pretty difficult place at the moment…we’re all tired and we all want life to go back to normal.”

“But the data and the science show that extra restrictions are needed if we want to bring the virus under control again in Wrexham. We don’t have a choice.”

“So once again, I’m urging each and every one of us to know the rules and to stick to them.”

“More than that, I’m asking everyone to do the right thing, and do everything they can to prevent the spread of the virus.”

“It’s about doing our best to protect other people including the people we love.”

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Nigel Harrison from North Wales Police said: “We completely understand that the news of these latest restrictions is hugely disheartening for many of us; but it’s really important that we all play our part by adhering to the new measures to help control and prevent further spread of the virus and keep all of our loved ones safe.”

“The message from North Wales Police today is clear. People need to take these new restrictions seriously; because if they don’t there is every possibility that we will see further restrictions. We want everyone to work together so that we can get through this, follow the guidance and protect the public – this will prevent us from having to take action.

“We are working hard to keep you safe from coronavirus and from crime. We’ve also seen a return to normal in crime levels since the easing of lockdown measures were announced, and now the demand has reached even greater levels due to blatant breaches of COVID legislation. We need people to recognise that wilfully flouting the guidance places unnecessary strain on already stretched resources, and ultimately endangers those people who may need the Emergency Services in their hour of need.

“However, we will not stand-by and allow blatant breaches of the legislation to happen across our communities. We will of course engage with the public and explain the new legislation, and encourage people to take personal responsibility for their own safety and that of others. If, however, people continue to flout the regulations, demonstrate a blatant disregard for the health warnings and put significant strain on already stretched resources, we will take action.

Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales supports the introduction of new coronavirus restrictions in four local authority areas in North Wales Denbighshire, Flintshire, Conwy and Wrexham following a rise in cases.

“The new measures will come into force at 6pm on Thursday 1 October, to protect people’s health and control the spread of the virus in the four areas.

“These arrangements are necessary in order to bring transmission of the virus under control in these areas. It is very important that we abide by the regulations in the areas in which we live and that we do not travel between local authority areas without a reasonable excuse.

 “We thank the public in advance for sticking to these new restrictions, which are essential in reducing spread of the virus, protecting older and vulnerable people, and keeping Wales safe.

“Following the introduction of restrictions in the borough of Caerphilly, our data is beginning to show a downward trend, and although we cannot categorically say this trend is a result of lockdown, we are cautiously optimistic and we are looking at a number of alternative sources to validate these results.

The ‘local lockdown’ will be reviewed in 14 days, and then on a ‘regular basis, at least every seven days’ thereafter.



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