A Welsh Government health chief has said that Bangor is under ’active watch’ and could be considered for a ’hyper-local lockdown’ after a rise in positive coronavirus cases in Gwynedd.
Dr Frank Atherton, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, said a rise in Covid-19 cases in Gwynedd was linked to Bangor’s student population, but this made the situation “easier to manage” in the county.
An incident management team has been setup and is meeting on a daily basis and reporting to the Welsh Government.
Speaking at the online Welsh Government media briefing today, Dr Atherton said it will ultimately be up to Gwynedd Council to decide if a ‘hyper local lockdown’ is needed in Bangor.
Total number of coronavirus cases in Gwynedd currently stands at 789, with 114 cases reported in the last 14 days.
Dr Atherton said: “Bangor is under active watch at the moment, Gwynedd is being considered and an incident management team is meeting on a daily basis, providing reports and suggestions into Welsh Government. We’re looking at that quite carefully.
“In Bangor itself, much of the increased number of cases has related specifically to the student population.
“Where we have an increase in the number of cases which are related to specific outbreaks, it’s easier to manage, because we have an outbreak control teams that can go in and work with the communities affected and can help to bring that under control.
“It’s where we have broader community transmission that the local lockdown arrangements are more effective and more likely to be put in place.
“We work with the local authorities and wait and see what their request of support from Welsh Government might be. Whether that would be on a Bangor basis or on a broader local authority basis.”
Dr Atherton told the press conference that Wales needs to prepare itself for “quite a difficult winter” and further restrictions could not be ruled out across Wales as cases rise.
