A footbridge in Cardiff has been closed by the council after signs calling on people to observe social distancing were ignored.

Blackweir Bridge, a popular route over the River Taff for pedestrians and cyclists between Bute Park and Pontcanna Fields, is just over 1m (3ft 3in) wide.

Signs had been put up to ask people to only cross in one direction at a time, but the council has now decided to close the bridge.

Councillor Peter Bradbury said: “Maintaining this route across the river would require significant staff resources, resources that are currently limited due to the ongoing situation, and could be used to greater public benefit elsewhere – particularly when there are much wider nearby bridges available to the north and the south, where it is much easier to cross the river whilst keeping a safe distance."

Wales' first minister has condemned a suggestion from US President Donald Trump that disinfectant could potentially be used to treat coronavirus by injecting it into people.

Mark Drakeford said the comments by Mr Trump at a media briefing on Thursday were "an extraordinary thing for anybody in that position to say".

The first minister said he would "never put myself in that position" of "just looking through the internet and finding stray ideas, with no scientific basis and no medical science behind them, and then suggesting [them] in a press conference to people".

"There are people out there, inevitably, who rely on the word of a president and then may act on what that person has said," Mr Drakeford told reporters on Friday.

"If I provide any advice to people in Wales it will always be because that advice has been thoroughly tested, comes through all the right processes and can be relied upon by people who are listening to it."

Off-duty RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben was taking his daily exercise in Whitland, Carmarthenshire, when he spotted a lost lamb in a country lane.

He and his partner - fellow RSPCA officer Ellie West - could hear the lamb's mother frantically calling to her.

They managed to capture the lamb and keep her calm before returning her to a nearby field.

The lamb ran around the field calling to her mother and they were soon reunited.

Mr Hogben, a football fan, said: "I was able to swap sports and put some rugby skills to good use, securely tackling the lost lamb, before returning her to the field where her mother was."

He added: "It was then just amazing to see the lamb search for and quickly find her mother - and certainly made our daily walk a lot more exciting than expected."

Health officials will spend the next fortnight drawing up detailed plans over how community testing for coronavirus will work in practice, Mr Drakeford says.

But he declined to commit to a target figure.

The Welsh government dropped its target of 5,00 tests each day, with capacity currently about 1,300 per day.

The UK government is still aiming for 100,000 tests per day by the end of the month.

Mr Drakeford said: “I definitely agree that a community testing regime, a test, trace and isolate system as it’s called, will be absolutely essential as lockdown measures are progressively lifted.

“What I’m keen to do is to make sure we use the time we’ve got to put that system in place. Our chief medical officer has already set out the elements we would need."

Mr Drakeford has denied suggestions his newly-published plan for exiting the lockdown could undermine the UK-wide approach to tackling the crisis.

The Welsh government has published its strategy, a day after the Scottish government published a similar document.

Speaking at the Welsh government’s daily press briefing, Mr Drakeford says he remains committed to working with the other UK nations and believes this framework will help strengthen the UK-wide response.

“I think Scotland publishing their framework yesterday, Wales publishing our framework today is a contribution to crafting that UK approach.

“By sharing with one another our thinking, by being open with one another about the issues that we think will matter in different parts of the United Kingdom, I think that will help us to craft a way forward, in which we all understand what one another are doing and we come to a common set of ideas and a common timetable for going about them.

“That remains my ambition and publishing our framework for me is part of strengthening a UK wide approach, certainly not undermining it.”

Mr Drakeford says there will be "seven questions we will use when we consider each option for relaxing the restrictions".

They include whether easing a restriction will have a negative effect on containing the virus, if the measure poses a low risk of further infection, whether the move can be monitored and enforced, and whether it can be reversed quickly if it creates unintended consequences.

He said: "I certainly accept that our seven tests are not an algorithm.

"You don't just put the question at the top and the answer falls out at the bottom.

"They will, in the end, involve judgements, weighing up these factors one against another, coming to a decision in the round."

Mr Drakeford also says it is "invetiable" the virus would being to circulate again once restrictions were lifted.

Mr Drakeford says a treatment and vaccine need to be in place before life can return to normal, adding there would be a “long road ahead”.

"This will not happen until an effective treatment and a vaccine are in place," he tells the daily briefing.

"If we continue to work together, I hope we will be able to make changes to the restrictions and see a gradual return to something resembling normal life."

He said the framework published today was about identifying when the first steps in that process could start.

Some "small changes” have been made in Wales to coronavirus regulations following the first three-week review, Mr Drakeford has confirmed.

He said: “Some areas [of the lockdown] have been strengthened and others are being eased.

"But I want to be completely clear the overarching stay-at-home rules remain in place, even as we look to the future.”

Mr Drakeford also thanked the public for the efforts they had made so far in the lockdown process.

Speaking at the daily press briefing, First Minister Mark Drakeford says he has published a framework, external that sets out how “when the time is right” he will begin the process of relaxing the stay-at-home regulations.

Within the next few minutes, First Minister Mark Drakeford will be leading the Welsh Government's latest coronavirus briefing from Cathays Park.

There are not enough intensive care staff in Wales and more doctors need to be recruited to cope with coronavirus, a senior doctor says.

Dr Bethan Gibson, the deputy training programme director for intensive care in Wales, says coronavirus has highlighted the lack of intensive care staff.

She said: “Before Covid there was a lack of intensive care beds in Wales already... I think this is highlighted how important intensive care is to the centre of the hospital and maybe we need more staff within these areas."

Dr Gibson, who works as a consultant in intensive care and anaesthetics the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taff, said not enough trainees are being recruited to deal with demand.

She said Wales should look to England and prioritise the training of specialists.

"England have already announced they're going to increase their number of trainees in total, from the current number to have 100 new trainees, but that's just in England.

"I'm not sure we can cope with 100 [new trainees] but I’d like to see the same percentage increase or a similar increase in Wales, definitely.”

The Welsh Government has been contacted for a response.

Four cemeteries in Cardiff are to reopen to members of the public from Saturday, the council has announced.

The council has said spaces should be used only for people visiting graves or attending funerals.

Officers will be placed at the Cathays, Western, Thornhill and Pantmawr cemeteries to ensure social-distancing measures are maintained.

It comes after calls from widower Malachy O'Donnell called for them to reopen in order to visit his late wife's grave.

Councillor Michael Michael said: “We’ve said from the start that this was a temporary measure and would be kept under review and I’m pleased that we are now in a position to redeploy teams to help ensure social distancing is maintained on-site and that we can re-open the cemeteries."

Image source, Tony Hodge/ Geograph

A businessman has donated £20,000 to an NHS charity to help patients and staff during the pandemic.

Sir Stanley Thomas, a property developer and the founder of Peter’s Pies in Bedwas, Caerphilly, made the donation to Cardiff and Vale Health Charity, the official charity of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.

Sir Stanley said the donation was an “appreciation to the wonderful work that is being done on a daily basis by our fantastic NHS staff”.

He added: “Their contribution is far greater than anything I can give, however I hope that others that have been fortunate in life and are in a position to donate will also do so.”

The health board’s chief executive Len Richards said he was “so grateful”, adding: “Our staff are working exceptionally hard and knowing they have access to funds that can supply those little extras to make a difference in their working areas gives a real boost."

He said patients would also benefit "from essentials to make their stay with us a little more bearable while they are unwell".

Cardiff City have reached agreement with their first-team players for a partial wage deferral for three months.

The club say the voluntary agreement will help "maintain financial stability" during the "unprecedented time of global economic concern".

Cardiff say the agreement was reached with the "greatest of will".

Bluebirds manager Neil Harris and chief executive Ken Choo had already announced they would take wage cuts amid the coronavirus lockdown.

Announcing the wage deferral, Choo said: "I'm pleased that our players have come together with us to make this significant financial gesture in support of our club and owner.

"We look forward to returning to the normality of sport in the not-too-distant future but, until then, will continue to do all we can to protect the infrastructure of our club and community."

Image source, Getty Images

Miss Wales finalists have been posing in their ballgowns while carrying out domestic tasks after the final in Cardiff was cancelled.

Determined not to let their gowns and stilettos go to waste, they have taken part in a fun photo shoot from home.

Olivia Harris, 17, decided to get out the lawnmower at home in Magor, Monmouthshire, while wearing a cream glittered dress.

Lauren Parkinson, 24, from Chirk, Denbighshire, wore pink rubber gloves to do some feather dusting in her strapless pink outfit.

And Sadie Pulman, 25, from Cardiff, fed the chickens while wearing a black gown.

Miss Wales organiser Paula Abbandonato said: "We are all so disappointed not to be having our Miss Wales events this week but are trying to stay as positive as possible.

"We thought this photo shoot would be a bit of fun amongst the sadness of the time and keep us all focused on better things to come."

Image source, Wales News Service

Image source, Wales News Service

Image source, Wales News Service

A clothing company in Llangefni on Anglesey has stopped production to make 400 scrubs a week for the NHS.

Owner of Brodwaith Ltd Dafydd Roberts said they plan to up production to 2,000 a week so they are looking to recruit more staff.

He said: “We've put out a call on social media for more workers to see if there's anyone out there who has used these sewing machines before.”

A major increase in state surveillance is a "price worth paying" to beat Covid-19, a UK think tank says.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), founded by the former prime minister, says it could offer an "escape route" from the crisis.

In a report, the institute argues the public must accept a level of intrusion that would normally "be out of the question in liberal democracies".

The rollout of contact-tracing apps has provoked a global debate.

The paper argues all governments must choose one of three undesirable outcomes: an overwhelmed health system, economic shutdown, or increased surveillance.

"Compared to the alternatives, leaning in to the aggressive use of the technology to help stop the spread of Covid-19... is a reasonable proposition," it says.

However, digital rights activists have warned that an overly-intrusive approach could backfire.

Image source, Getty Images

How do you adapt your business when coronavirus makes your customers disappear overnight?

Well, for Wales based magician Andy Green, the answer was to take his act online, using video conference sites to put on shows for children.

He says he hopes the idea can stay on after lockdown and be used for birthday parties for children in hospital.

Image source, Getty Images

Welsh Affairs Committee chairman Stephen Crabb MP says the coronavirus pandemic makes this the “most challenging period” for Wales since devolution.

Mr Crabb believes there has "never been a more important test for the UK-Wales relationship".

The committee has launched an inquiry into the economic consequences for Wales of the pandemic and the support necessary to rebuild the Welsh economy at the end of the crisis.

The inquiry will look at the most appropriate exit strategy for Wales from the emergency measures, the support businesses and individuals will need to survive the crisis and rebuild afterwards, and the lessons that can be learnt.

“The coronavirus emergency is already having a profound impact on the Welsh economy with many companies temporarily closed and hundreds of thousands of workers furloughed," Mr Crabb said.

“Meanwhile, front-line NHS staff and the wider Welsh public are part of a remarkable national effort to reduce the spread of the virus and save lives.

“As the UK and Welsh governments continue to develop their policies for supporting businesses and families through this crisis, it is right to examine the effectiveness of their joint and individual efforts.

“This is the most challenging period for Wales since the establishment of devolved government.”

Dr Richard Pugh from Glan Clwyd Hospital in Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, is urging people not to be tempted to break social distancing rules.