Image source, Robin Drayton

Newport council says it has no plans to reopen its gated parks during the coronavirus lockdown, despite a backlash from residents.

It follows the comments of a UK government minister who said parks and cemeteries should remain open.

However, their call only applies to councils in England, whereas in Wales the decision lies in the hands of the individual local authorities.

Residents of Newport have taken to social media to complain, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Some pointed out that parks in Cardiff and other parts of Wales remained open while one resident claimed that "forcing people to walk on the street" instead of parks increased the risk of breaching advice on social distancing.

In response, Newport council said it took a decision last month to “close its gated parks and cemeteries, except for funeral services, in the interest of all residents, the emergency services and staff”.

“This decision was not taken lightly but we hope people understand that the priority has to be keeping people safe above everything else," the council said in a statement.

“Some residents continue to ignore social distancing advice and all decisions taken are based wholly on risk.

“If you choose to use areas of local open-access recreational land, please ensure you adhere to the guidance – unless you are with members of your household, gatherings of more than two people are banned and you should keep two metres apart from others at all times.”

A bagpiper plays Myfanwy and Cwm Rhondda ahead of a ceremony to open Dragon’s Heart Hospital at Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

Volunteers in Monmouthshire have answered 2,110 requests for help during the coronavirus crisis, Monmouthshire council has said.

The council says it has been “overwhelmed” by the support shown to those most in need over the past month.

More than 650 volunteers have delivered 2,647 free hot meals or bags of food, while other tasks undertaken have included shopping, collecting prescriptions, walking dogs, posting letters and delivering recycling bags – and there was one TV repair job.

Newport County has revealed a message of thanks to the NHS staff in the car park at Rodney Parade.

Wales' biggest hospital has been opened by Prince Charles to ease the pressure on the NHS from the coronavirus pandemic.

Cardiff's Principality Stadium has been turned into a 2,000-bed field hospital and is the second biggest in the UK behind Nightingale Hospital, London.

The Cardiff site - called Dragon's Heart Hospital - will have a mobile X-ray and CT scanners. It will also care for people in the last weeks or days of their life.

Speaking in a pre-recorded video message on the stadium's big screens, the Prince of Wales said the transformation of the stadium was part of the "immense effort to combat the dreadful threat that we face".

He praised the way the community had come together and frontline workers who have put themselves first during the pandemic "without sorts of reward and without regard for self".

An early draft of a study by Swansea University and the University of Manchester has found social distancing and isolation is "having significant impacts on people’s mental health and emotional wellbeing".

Image source, Getty Images

The study saw researchers conduct five online focus groups from across the UK in the early stages of the lockdown.

It found:

• Social distancing is leading to heightened feelings of anxiety and depression
• People in low-paid or insecure jobs have experienced the greatest impact
• Some people are fearful they will experience health or social anxiety after the lockdown, while others plan to go back to normal levels of social activity as soon as possible

Research leader Dr Simon Williams said people's efforts to stick to social distancing was "coming at a significant cost to mental health and wellbeing".

There have been another nine deaths announced by Public Health Wales in its daily update.

This takes the total deaths of people with coronavirus to 584.

The total number of positive tests has risen to 7,546.

In other news, a 20-year-old man was arrested in Cardiff on Sunday on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism, police say.

The arrest at a house in the Cyncoed area of the city took place just after 07:00 BST following concerns reported by a resident.

South Wales Police initially said the man was also being held on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, but did not specify the terrorism offence he was suspected of committing.

On Monday, the force clarified he was arrested under Section 5 of the Terrorism Act 2006, which makes it an offence to prepare for acts of terrorism.

Image source, Getty Images

A community testing and surveillance system will be needed in Wales when the country begins to lift the lockdown, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford told the daily Welsh Government press conference that it is likely people will need to be recruited to help trace and isolate individuals.

Plans are being drawn up with the chief medical officer, Frank Atherton.

It comes a day after Mr Drakeford admitted his government's testing system had not been good enough.

No date has been given for when the lockdown will end, although it has to be reviewed every three weeks with the next exercise due at the start of May.

A number of new and existing drugs will be trialled for their potential to treat coronavirus at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff.

The hospital announced eligible patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 will be randomly allocated treatments, which will be given in addition to their usual therapies.

Dr James Powell and Prof Richard Adama will lead the trial at Velindre.

The UK-wide trial, Randomised Evaluation of Covid-19 Therapy, external, is being led nationally by Oxford University.

The Welsh Government will not set a new target for how many people it aims to test for coronavirus in day, the first minister has said.

The administration hoped to get up to 5,000 tests a day by mid-April, but has abandoned the target after falling well short, with the current capacity being about 1,300 a day.

Mark Drakeford said he hoped to see the impact of the government's rapid review of testing application procedures "during this week".

Mr Drakeford held a meeting on Monday morning involving the military, Care Forum Wales and others aimed at turning recommendations of the review into “actions on the ground”.

“At the end of last week… we had tests available that weren't being taken up but that was partly because of the complexity of the system," he said.

“We’re using military planners to help us to streamline that system as best we can. You still have to have safeguards in the system, you've still got to make sure that people turn up at the right place at the right time, have the right to test for the right person.

"And that does take a bit of organising, but we are confident we can do it in a more streamlined way and that will mean more of tests are being taken up.

"What we've said in the rapid review is we will report every week on the number of tests available in the NHS in Wales on a daily basis, the number that are being taken up and the plans we have to increase that number over the week ahead.”

But he said he would not set a new target, citing one expert who believed the number became a distraction.

A target to test 5,000 people a day for coronavirus in Wales was not achievable partly due to equipment not arriving on time, the first minister has said.

The Welsh Government had hoped to hit the target by mid April, but has fallen well short, with the capacity currently being about 1,300 a day.

Mark Drakeford said the targets, which have now been abandoned, had been given in "good faith", and he would not give a new target for how many tests he hoped they could achieve.

"The advice we had from people who help us develop testing is that we had confidence at that point we could get to 5,000 tests," he said.

“Because there was confidence in the number I thought it was right to share that number.

“As it has happened some of the things we were relying upon to allow us to get to the 5,000 number a day haven’t turned out to be achievable in practice, partly because some of those things are outside our own control.“

"We were relying on equipment coming to Wales from overseas. We were relying on some reagent chemicals coming to Wales from overseas. Those deliveries haven’t arrived to the timescale we had hoped.”

Communities will need to spot problems when Wales starts to finally ease out of the lockdown, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford told the Welsh Government's daily press conference there would need to be a system of community testing and surveillance when restrictions are lifted.

He said there was a “strong likelihood” that people will need to be recruited to be a “presence on the ground”, helping to do the job of “spotting, tracing and isolating”.

The first minister hinted that university students could play a role, saying they would not “necessarily have to be people with long degrees".

Mr Drakeford said he had been discussing drawing up a plan with the chief medical officer, Frank Atherton, this morning.

He would not be drawn on whether thousands of people would be needed.

“As we begin to lift the lockdown, no matter how carefully and cautiously we do it, it is inevitable the circulation of the virus in the community will grow in some place," Mr Drakeford said.

"What we need then is community testing and surveillance that will allow us to spot those outbreaks quickly and get on top of them quickly through contact tracing and isolation of people who’ve got the virus.”

Not needing to open a new hospital a year early to respond to the coronavirus pandemic is "good news", the first minister has said.

Parts of the £350m Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran were due to be opened at the end of the month, offering an extra 350 beds to the NHS.

A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said the beds would be ready, but a review had concluded they would not be needed in the next few weeks.

At the Welsh Government's daily press conference, First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "We have enough beds available in the current system to be able to manage."

Asked about the intended use of the new field hospital at Cardiff's Principality Stadium, Mr Drakeford said it would initially be used for "step-down purposes" for people "now on a path of recovery" from Covid-19.

"It will release capacity in our main hospitals particularly for those who need more critical, acute care," he added.

A £6m package of support to help hospices care for those dying after being tested positive for cornavirus has been announced.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said many of the families affected would continue to draw on the bereavement support that hospices offer.

He said the extra funding would allow hospices to continue to provide "vital services and high-quality care".

Over 6,000 small businesses applied for financial support grants in less than 24 hours, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford said the Welsh Government was putting an extra £100m into the Economic Resilience Fund.

The fund, which was launched on Friday, allows businesses to apply for grants of up to £10,000 - but there have been concerns some businesses, such as child care providers, cannot access it.

The £500m scheme is currently open to businesses who are VAT registered or exempt from VAT with turnover greater than £85,000.

"We’ve had a huge response to the fund since it was launched on Friday – more than 6,000 small businesses and social enterprises applied for grant support in the first 24 hours," Mr Drakeford said.

"Altogether, we’ve made nearly £2bn of support available to small businesses and charities to support them through these incredibly difficult times."

On field hospitals, the first minister said he would be attending a "virtual" ceremony later today ahead of the official opening of Ysbyty Calon y Ddraig (the Dragon's Heart Hospital) in the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

Mr Drakeford said it would be be the largest field hospital outside London.

He said the huge amount of work in the NHS across Wales to increase capacity was "nothing short of remarkable".

Plans to open a brand new hospital at the end of April a year early to help respond to the coronavirus crisis have been put on hold.

Parts of the £350m Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran were due to be opened at the end of the month, offering an extra 350 beds to the NHS.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said the beds will be "ready and available as planned", but a review had concluded they would not be needed in the next few weeks, a spokesman said.

“This is great news as it means that the lockdown measures on social distancing and staying home - other than for essential work, medicine, exercise and caring - are working in Gwent," he added.

“Thankfully, as a result of this as well as the efforts of our staff, the pressure on our Health Board bed capacity has not been as great as initially forecasted."

The board added it would keep this under "constant review".

Rules to stop people travelling to their second homes could be strengthened in a bid to curb the coronavirus pandemic, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford said ministers had been looking at the social-distancing regulations to "see whether there are any areas which need to be tightened or areas where we could make changes".

The law requires the Welsh Government to review the stay-at-home regulations every three weeks.

In some rural and coastal communities there have been concerns that people have been travelling from cities to second homes to self-isolate during the pandemic, with concerns it will put strains on the local NHS.

Mr Drakeford said they were looking at strengthening the regulations in relation to people travelling to second homes in Wales.

He said ministers were also looking at changing the regulations to enable families with children who have learning disabilities or autism to exercise more than once a day.

The first minister said he would give a further up date of changes to the regulations and guidance by the end of the week.