Local Lockdown - Update from the Managing Director

27 September 2020

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to provide you with a further update on coronavirus developments in the Vale of Glamorgan.

This morning the Leader and I again met with the Leaders of other Local Authorities and Welsh Government to discuss the changing situation across Wales. This follows the Health Minister’s announcement on Friday that the Vale of Glamorgan was on a ‘watch list’ and the situation would be reviewed over the weekend to determine whether additional restrictions were deemed necessary.

Having received advice and the latest data from Public Health Wales and in discussions with ourselves and the University Health Board, Welsh Government has determined to introduce lockdown restrictions to the Vale of Glamorgan from 6pm on Monday evening (28 September).

The additional restrictions are:

• People will not be able to leave or enter the County without a reasonable excuse.
• Extended households will be suspended. This will mean that meeting indoors – in your home, or in places such as a café, bar or restaurant, with anyone not in your immediate household will not be allowed.

These are in addition to the existing restrictions, such as working from home wherever possible and others introduced in recent weeks.

This decision has been taken in light of the number of cases continuing to rise to 34.4 per 100,000 of the population. 2.7% of test results are also now being returned as positive, a figure above the 2.4% threshold for intervention.

A daily meeting of Council officials with colleagues from partner agencies will continue across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, with the formal Incident Management Team meeting twice weekly and providing updates to the Strategic Leadership Group (of which I and the Leader are part).

The Leader of the Council has issued a public statement, which can be read on our website.

Read the Leader's statement 

As he makes clear, this is a decision that has not been taken lightly but one that is designed to as a preventative measure to stop the situation in the Vale escalating further. As a Council we have been at the forefront of the response to Covid-19 since March.

We now have a new challenge to rise to, and it is one in which we all have a role to play. Put simply, the more closely we follow the new rules, the sooner they can be lifted.

The Council’s Strategic Leadership Team (SLT) will now be reviewing how services are delivered to ensure we make the adjustment for residents as smooth as possible. However, we can all help people understand what is now in place, how they can follow the local lockdown restrictions, and set an example in our communities.

This is another opportunity for us to show the community leadership that stood the Vale in such good stead earlier in the year and I know I will have the support of all of Team Vale in doing this again.

We will be promoting a series of important messages from today on what these restrictions mean for the lives of our residents and how they can keep safe. One of the easiest ways you can help is in sharing these.

Thank you. Diolch yn fawr. Stay safe.

Rob Thomas