Torfaen council is to trial the reopening of car parking areas that serve local parks from Thursday.

They include the Boating Lake, Southfields and Northfields in Cwmbran and the Old Mill Car Park in Pontypool.

Countryside car parks that attract visitors from a wider area will remain closed for the time being.

These include those at Garn Lakes, Tirpentwys, Mountain Air and Blaen Bran. However, residents who live local to these areas can still visit on foot or by bicycle.

Councillor Mandy Owen, executive member for the environment, said: “We really want these car parking areas to be used responsibly.

"If there’s any anti-social behaviour, people start parking dangerously, or there are gatherings we will have to shut them again.”

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A 26-year-old man has appeared in court after he was caught camping during lockdown.

Llandudno Magistrates heard Connor Richards from Rhyl decided to go camping after he suffered a family tragedy and lost his job.

His solicitor said all he saw on his trip were badgers.

Richards admitted breaching Covid-19 regulations and court chairman Robert Bradley told him: ”This is going to turn out a very costly night’s camping for you.”

He was fined £40 with £117 costs.

Image source, Richard Hoare/Geograph

A total of 1,410 people are confirmed to have died with coronavirus in Wales, according to Public Health Wales.

The Cwm Taf health board area in south Wales has the highest number of deaths, with 304 people now having died after testing positive.

This graph shows the number of deaths by the day they occurred, rather than the day they were announced.

Today there were no new positive tests reported in eight council areas of Wales.

This includes the five council areas in south east Wales served by the Aneurin Bevan health board.

The Betsi Cadwaladr health board area, which covers north Wales, has the highest number of cases in Wales, with 2,999.

The board reported 13 new cases today.

Nine more people with coronavirus have died in Wales, according to Public Health Wales figures, taking the total to 1,401.

These are where laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of coronavirus, and mostly involve deaths in hospital.

The higher totals issued weekly by the Office for National Statistics include deaths in care homes and those where coronavirus is suspected but not necessarily confirmed.

Nine more people have died with coronavirus in Wales, bringing the official Public Health Wales (PHW) total to 1,410.

Forty-two new cases were announced on Tuesday, bringing the total number of known cases to 14,480, according to PHW figures.

But officials have warned the true figure will be much higher as not everyone with symptoms is tested.

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The annual Ironman Wales triathlon due to take place in Pembrokeshire on 6 September has been cancelled because of coronavirus.

Over 2,000 athletes from across the world had signed up to take part in the event which starts and finishes in Tenby.

Thousands of spectators gather in the town and along the route to support the athletes.

The event - which will return on 12 September 2021 - is worth around £3.7m to the local economy.

In a statement, organisers say:, external "In what has been a continually evolving and challenging time globally, we recognise that this decision due to the above-mentioned unforeseen events may come as a disappointment."

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Computer gaming retailer Game has mistakenly told customers it is opening its shops in Wales later this month.

In an email to its mailing list, the company said it was reopening England and Northern Ireland on 15 June as the coronavirus lockdown eased.

It also said it was opening shops in Wales on 18 June but the Welsh Government has not yet confirmed when non-essential shops can open.

Game has re-issued its release to clarify its position.

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Health Minister Vaughan Gething has said "we don't know" whether Ceredigion's early track-and-trace system was the reason for lower coronavirus transmission in the area.

Ceredigion council set up a contact-tracing system before the launch of the Welsh Government Test, Trace, Protect system.

Mr Gething said the council "had a very low instance of coronavirus, and that's a really good thing for Ceredigion" but said a "proper examination" would need to be done to know whether or not this was down to introducing a system earlier.

He said "an effective test, trace, protect system makes a big contribution to keeping people safe" and to "bringing people out of lockdown".

"Our excess deaths, above the five-year average of what you'd expect at this time of year, are about 12.6% - comparing that to regions of England, only the south west of England has a lower percentage.

"We're actually in a better position which you wouldn't have necessarily expected at the beginning of the pandemic, given our population is older, poorer and sicker."

The British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales has welcomed the decision by the Welsh Government to recommend wearing three-layer face coverings in places where social distancing is not possible.

BMA Cymru chairman Dr David Bailey said: “Wearing masks will afford greater protection to the public, and importantly, it will protect the lives of the staff working on public transport who, as evidence suggests, are at greater risk of infection.“We absolutely agree that wearing face coverings cannot be an excuse for ignoring social distancing rules and urge the public to continue to follow the rules and practice good hand hygiene.”

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Health Minister Vaughan Gething says he is as “confident” as he can be about schools reopening in Wales on 29 June.

He was speaking after the the UK government announced it was scrapping plans for all primary school years in England to go back before the end of the term.

Schools in Wales are due to implement a phased return to lessons for all year groups, but with no more than a third of pupils in class at any one time.

“We are living through an extraordinary amount of uncertainty, and I think any politician that tries to stand up and give you cast iron guarantees is being brave or foolish depending on your point of view," Mr Gething told the daily Welsh Government press conference.

He added that the Welsh Government had worked through a range of options that struck “the right balance” in terms of keeping people safe and recognising potential harms of the virus.

Mr Gething said it was a matter for other countries to make their own choices in regards to schools opening but he was “ positive of the measures” being introduced in Wales.

The health minister has defended new advice to care homes not to routinely accept admissions until they have had no new cases of Covid-19 for 28 days.

Vaughan Gething said the advice, from Public Health Wales, was aimed at keeping care "as safe as possible".

He said there was a "balance to strike" in terms of the financial implications for homes, insisting "I'm not going to see organisations go under".

But Mr Gething added: "If we tried to put the financial health of organisations ahead of the wellbeing and safety of people, I think people would say that that would be entirely the wrong choice to make."

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People should not think they can “do what they like” if they are wearing a face covering, the health minister warned.

Vaughan Gething’s comments came as he announced the Welsh Government was now encouraging people in Wales to wear a three-layer face covering in situations where they are not able to socially distance.

Speaking at the Welsh Government’s daily press briefing, Mr Gething said: “I think the danger is that people behave or try to reframe the advice as if what we're saying is, if you wear a face covering you can do what you like.

“That is very, very clearly not the advice. It is still the case that people should follow social distancing wherever possible.”

Mr Gething also said it was not being recommended that people should wear a face covering when doing their shopping.

“When I go out and do my weekly shop, I find that people follow the rules, that the shops themselves are making sure they don't have lots of people going in… and people know about not going past each other.

“The Chief Medical Officer, in our discussions, has been clear that the momentary passing of people in a shop is not the sort of risk that we're looking to cover.”

Mr Gething said the latest advice on face coverings did not change guidance and rules on keeping 2m apart in Wales.

"Wearing a face covering cannot be an excuse for ignoring social distancing measures," he said.

"Maintaining social distancing wherever possible is a more effective measure than wearing a face covering."

Image source, Gov.Wales

The health minister has also revealed details of the first week of contact tracing in Wales.

He told the daily briefing 651 coronavirus contacts had been identified since the system went live.

Of those, he said 619 "have so far been successfully contacted".

Explaining the decision on face covering further, Mr Gething said: "The most obvious example is public transport where more than 15% capacity is likely to mean that social distancing is not possible."

He added: "A homemade or purchased three-layer face-covering might reduce transmission from one person to another if made, worn, handled and disposed of properly. Some face coverings could be washable and reusable.

"This is only the case for non- symptomatic people. People who are symptomatic must continue to self-isolate for seven days and get a test.

"Wearing a face covering cannot be an excuse for ignoring social distancing measures."

The Welsh Government is recommending that members of the public wear "non-medical face coverings" in situations where social-distancing isn't possible.

Speaking at the daily coronavirus press briefing, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said the recommendation was being made after the World Health Organisation updated its advice on non- medical face coverings last week.

He said the WHO recommended that governments encourage the public to wear "three-layer non-medical face coverings in specific settings where other more effective measures were not possible".

He said the Welsh Government was following that advice and recommending people in Wales wear three-layer face coverings in situations where social distancing is not possible.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething will be giving the latest briefing from the Welsh Government on the coronavirus pandemic from 12:30 BST.

He is expected to give fresh guidance on the issue of wearing face masks in Wales.

So far, the Welsh Government has not recommended their use - but yesterday the first minister said officials were working on details about whether to introduce new measures.

More than 400 jobs have been saved at double-glazing firm Everest, which has one of its two manufacturing sites in Treherbert.

A rescue deal secured the future of the windows and doors specialist in the face of "incredibly challenging" trading amid the coronavirus crisis.

The firm was forced to call in administrators and then agreed a sale immediately to a private equity firm to rescue the business.

Specialist business advisory firm FRP, which arranged the sale, said 413 jobs were safeguarded at Everest's 18 distribution centres and its two manufacturing sites in south Wales and Sittingbourne in Kent.

Alastair Massey, a joint administrator and partner at FRP, said: "In the face of incredibly challenging trading conditions... this deal secures a significant number of jobs and personal livelihoods for many affiliated roles.

"Moreover, it achieves continuity for customers who have had their orders and deposits secured by this deal and who the company is now prioritising for service and installation."

The deal has also helped protect the livelihoods of another 600 self-employed associates in sales and installations, according to FRP, although 188 jobs have been lost.

Image source, Getty Images

Police have arrested an individual for spitting at an officer in Aberystwyth.

Dyfed-Powys Police Insp Ash Brice tweeted that this sort of behaviour "is never tolerated".