Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) has become the second area in Wales to be placed in local lockdown following an increase in coronavirus cases.

The Welsh government has confirmed the county borough will be put into lockdown from 6pm on Thursday September 17.

From this point on, people will not be able to enter or leave the area without a reasonable excuse, such as for work, school or medical treatment. All licensed premises will also have to shut by 11pm in the evening.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said there had been a ‘rapid’ surge in Covid-19 cases in the borough. There are currently 82.1 infections of the virus per 100,000 people.

The rate of positive tests in the area on Tuesday was also 4.3%, the highest in Wales. Mr Gething said: ‘Our contact tracing teams have been able to trace about half of these cases back to a series of clusters within the borough. The rest are evidence of community transmission.’

Earlier this week Mr Gething said the majority of cases in RCT were centred on the lower Rhondda Valley, and had been linked to people returning home from abroad or socialising without following social distancing guidelines.

A review into the new restrictions will be held in two weeks’ time, the Welsh government said.

The lockdown comes one week after new restrictions were put in place across Caerphilly, which at the time had around 72.9 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.

Caerphilly has the most cases per population in Wales, with 85 infections per 100,000 people.

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