The Leader announced that earlier this week, Welsh Government confirmed that the whole of Wales is to enter a two-week ‘fire-break’ period of lockdown that will begin on Friday 23 October, and end on Monday 9 November.

With as many as 2,500 people contracting coronavirus every day in Wales, the First Minister confirmed the action as being essential to turn this around, and to prevent hospitals and critical care units from becoming overwhelmed in the weeks and months ahead.

The move will also support efforts to limit restrictions around the forthcoming Christmas and New Year periods, and follows efforts by Welsh Government to keep Wales safe by preventing people travelling to Wales from coronavirus ‘hot spots’ in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The fire-break will impose a number of restrictions upon households and businesses throughout Wales throughout its duration.

People will need to stay at home, and also work from home wherever possible.

People can only go out for essential reasons, e.g. to buy food or pick up a prescription medicine, and can also leave home to exercise either alone, with members of your household or with a carer.

Adults living alone or single parents will be able to join with one other household for support, but visits to other households or meeting with people you do not live with, either indoors or outdoors, will not be possible.

Outdoor gatherings, including organised activities such as Halloween or Bonfire Night, will not be able to take place.

However, an exception will be made for small-scale Remembrance Sunday events that have already been organised.

While community centres, libraries and recycling centres will all need to close, local parks, playgrounds and outdoor gyms can remain open.

As regards the impact upon local schools, primary and special schools will re-open as normal after the October half-term holiday, and secondary schools will re-open for children in years seven and eight.

Pupils will be able to attend school to take exams, but other children will need to continue with their learning from home for an extra week.

All non-food retail and hospitality businesses, close contact services, and events and tourism businesses are required to close during the lockdown.

This will include hairdressers, beauticians, hotels, cafes, restaurants and pubs, but take-away and delivery services will still be able to operate.

Health and NHS services will continue to operate, and where indoor public spaces remain open, face coverings must be worn, including on public transport and in taxis.

To support businesses during the lockdown fortnight, Welsh Government has announced a new £300m fund.

Every business covered by the small business rates relief will receive a £1,000 payment, while all small and medium-sized retail, leisure and hospitality businesses that have to close will receive a one-off payment of up to £5,000.

A recently announced fund to help businesses develop in the longer term is being increased from £80m to £100m, with the additional £20m ring-fenced to support tourism and hospitality businesses.

Additional discretionary grants and support will also be available, and businesses will be able to access the existing Job Retention Scheme or the newly expanded Job Support Scheme.

UK Government is also continuing to make wage-support schemes available.

Together with our partners, the Council is making preparations for the start of the fire-break, and to ensure that we can continue to prioritise vulnerable people and provide vital services.

Throughout this, the Welsh Government’s rationale for instigating the fire-break remains very clear.

Nobody wants to enter into another lock-down situation, but all across Wales, the coronavirus pandemic is getting worse, not better.

People are dying, and the situation needs to be taken far more seriously across all levels of the community.

The fire-break is necessary to prevent our hospitals and essential services from becoming overwhelmed by coronavirus cases this autumn and winter.

The worsening situation has meant that the Ysbyty’r Seren field hospital on Bridgend industrial estate has already started accepting patients from the Royal Glamorgan, Prince Charles and Princess of Wales hospitals.

As Members were aware, the field hospitals are designed to ease the strain upon our main facilities, and to ensure that they can continue to focus upon patients who require more specialist care.

Everyone needed to play their part, to support these efforts in order to protect ourselves, our friend and families, and our communities.

As community leaders, the Leader knew all members will support these efforts, and will encourage constituents to abide by the lockdown rules.

To help people better understand this, Welsh Government has published a highly-detailed series of frequently asked questions on their website.

As well as providing a broad context for why the fire-break is necessary, it also supplies answers and confirms details around a wide range of topics, and is a useful resource in the event you receive any enquiries.

Following the end of the fire-break, Welsh Government will be announcing a new set of national rules that we anticipate will cover how people can meet, how the public sector and businesses can operate, and more.

Further details would be forthcoming as they become known, but with hospital admissions rising rapidly, critical units already full and a real risk of the NHS becoming overwhelmed, it is clear that action must be taken now, and that we must all act together in order to make it work and to save lives.