Coronavirus: Local lockdown for Rhondda Cynon Taff

A second Welsh local lockdown is to start in Rhondda Cynon Taff on Thursday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced.

"We need to introduce local restrictions in the area to control and ultimately to reduce the spread of the virus and protect people's health," he told a press conference.

The lockdown will start at 18:00 BST and has been prompted by a rise in cases to 82.1 infections per 100,000 people over the past seven days.

The restrictions will be similar to those brought in in Caerphilly, meaning people can only leave to go to work if they cannot work from home, to access education, health care, food and essentials or for legal obligations.

However, unlike Caerphilly, pubs and restaurants have been told to close at 23:00.

Mr Gething said pubs were a "factor in transmission in RCT [Rhondda Cynon Taff] in a way that we didn't have evidence for within Caerphilly".