cases requiring hospital treatment. people in rhondda cynon taf and merthyr tydfil are asked to wear face coverings at work, in shops and crowded public spaces to avoid a caerphilly-style lockdown. 11 september – the welsh government announces that the wearing of face coverings in shops and other indoor spaces will become compulsory from 14 september, and that indoor meetings of more than six people will be banned. 13 september – a further 162 covid-19 cases are confirmed in wales. the welsh government says that a third of people should still work remotely, even when covid-19 restrictions have been lifted. sport wales says that junior sport in wales is "under major threat" over the coming winter, with the possibility of teams playing no matches due to the pandemic. there are also concerns that children may "drift away" from sports like rugby and football because they cannot play them in the same way as pre-covid. 14 september – public health wales says that the details of 18,000 people who tested positive for covid-19 were published online in error on 30 august. the information was available for 20 hours, and while full names were not published, the information may have made it possible to identify care home residents. an august bank holiday weekend party is believed to be behind a spike of covid-19 cases in newport. 15 september – an extra 5,000 hospital beds will be made available over the winter for potential covid-19 patients. following reports of people being unable to get covid-19 tests, or having to travel several hundred miles to a test centre, first minister mark drakeford says that tests may become available for those without symptoms once new laboratory facilities are opened in november. 16 september – rhondda cynon taf is placed under lockdown restrictions, effective from 18:00 bst on 17 september. from then, people living in the area are not permitted to leave without a valid reason, such as travelling to work or for education, and licensed premises must close at 23:00 bst. public health wales reports 199 further covid-19 cases in the most recent 24 hours, but no deaths for the past 15 days. 17 september – gibraltar and thailand are added to the quarantine exemption list from 04:00 on 19 september, while travellers from guadeloupe and slovenia will be required to self-isolate is they arrive in wales after then. dr robin howe of public health wales warns that a spike in covid-19 cases in locked down areas could lead to a rise in hospitalisations and deaths in those areas. 18 september – first minister mark drakeford says that newport and merthyr tydfil are being kept under watch following a rise in covid-19 cases in those areas. betsi cadwaladr university health board declares that a covid-19 outbreak in wrexham is over. 19 september – the number of daily covid-19 cases rises to 212, with two deaths also reported. hospital and care home visits are suspended in bridgend, merthyr tydfil and rhondda cynon taf because of concerns about rising covid-19 cases in those areas. 20 september – a further 199 daily covid-19 cases are reported for wales, but no further deaths. eluned morgan, the welsh government's minister for international relations, says that stricter enforcement may have to be considered if people continue to break covid-19 rules. 21 september – lockdown restrictions are announced for merthyr tydfil, bridgend, blaenau gwent and newport with effect from 18:00 on 22 september; people in those areas will not be permitted to leave, while licensed premises must close by 23:00. 22 september – in a pre-recorded television address, first minister mark drakeford announces fresh restrictions amid rising covid-19 cases, bringing wales into line with england. pubs, restaurants and bars must close at 10pm from thursday 24 september, and offer table service only, while off licences and supermarkets must stop serving alcohol at that time. drakeford also advises people against unnecessary travel. 23 september – first minister mark drakeford says there is no case to extend lockdown measures to other areas of wales, and that measures already announced need time to work. 24 september – the second version of the nhs contact-tracing app is made available for download by the public in england and wales. huw thomas, leader of cardiff city council says that lockdown measures are being considered for cardiff as cases in the city reach 38.2 in 100,000. lockdown restrictions are extended in caerphilly for another week. 25 september – lockdown measures are introduced for llanelli, cardiff and swansea, with the measures taking effect in llanelli at 18:00 on 26 september, and cardiff and swansea at 18:00 on 27 september. shoppers are warned not to panic buy as lockdown measures are introduced. 26 september – wales's first town-only lockdown comes into force in llanelli. 27 september – lockdown measures are announced for neath port talbot, torfaen and vale of glamorgan, beginning at 18:00bst on 28 september. this means two thirds of wales's population are subject to lockdown measures. first minister mark drakeford says he is considering changes to lockdown rules that would allow people who live alone to meet up indoors with others after becoming "concerned" about those living by themselves. 28 september – economy minister ken skates announces £140m of government grants to help businesses affected by local lockdowns. 29 september – lockdown restrictions are announced for conwy, denbighshire, flintshire, and wrexham, taking effect from 18:00bst on 1 october; people cannot enter or leave these areas unless for a valid reason such as work or education. first minister mark drakeford calls for prime minister boris johnson to prevent people from locked down areas of england from travelling to wales for holidays. it is reported that blaenau gwent, currently the subject of a lockdown, has one of the highest and fastest rising covid-19 case rates in the uk, with 307.7 cases per 100,000. 30 september – surgery is temporarily suspended at royal glamorgan hospital following 60 covid cases and eight deaths at the hospital. october 2020 1 october – as conwy, denbighshire, flintshire and wrexham go into lockdown, businesses in the area express fears that local lockdown could lead to job losses and closures. covid deaths at royal glamorgan hospital rise to ten, while hospitalisations increase in the valleys area. 2 october – the welsh government announces that people living alone in areas subject to lockdown restrictions may meet one other household indoors. prime minister boris johnson rejects a call by first minister mark drakeford to prevent people from england living in areas where there are high covid-19 cases from travelling to wales. 3 october – a further 576 covid-19 cases are confirmed in wales along with five deaths. the principal of grŵp llandrillo menai says he is "deeply disappointed by the actions of a small group of learners" after five students at the college test positive for covid-19 following a night out in liverpool. 4 october – public health wales records a further 432 covid-19 cases, but no further deaths. 5 october – a support package for freelance workers worth £7m is launched; it is overwhelmed with applications, and closed to some applicants within an hour of its launch. the welsh government says it is considering introducing quarantine restrictions for people arriving into wales from covid-19 hotspots elsewhere in the uk. dr frank atherton, wales's chief medical officer, warns that people should "get ready" for rolling local lockdowns over the coming winter. 6 october – figures released by the welsh government indicate that the list of people waiting for routine surgery in wales has grown sixfold since the start of the pandemic, with 57,445 now waiting for an operation. police launch an investigation into why the principal and vice-chancellor of the university of aberdeen in scotland made a trip to the vale of glamorgan on 2 october; the area is the subject of a lockdown. first minister mark drakeford accuses rival conservative politicians of encouraging people to break lockdown rules after senedd members and mps signed a letter criticising travel restrictions, describing the letter as "disgraceful". more than 8,000 people have signed a petition calling for sports training for children to be exempted from travel restrictions. 7 october – 23 deaths from covid-19 are linked to outbreaks across three hospitals: the royal glamorgan hospital, rhondda cynon taf; the prince charles hospital, merthyr tydfil; the princess of wales hospital, bridgend. a twitter post by fox news presenter laura ingraham criticising plans for "rolling lockdowns" in wales over the winter is shared by us president donald trump. 8 october – dr giri shankar, the covid incident director for public health wales, says that pubs and restaurants are an "ongoing concern" following a spike involving 33 cases at a working men's club and another venue in garw valley, bridgend. a further 638 covid-19 cases are recorded, along with one death. 9 october – lockdown restrictions are announced for bangor, beginning at 18:00bst on 10 october. 10 october – a further 21 covid-19 deaths are reported, seven of them as a result of delays in reporting deaths earlier in october. 11 october – three people are arrested at an anti-lockdown protest held outside the senedd. first minister mark drakeford says that wales is "close to a tipping point" with the number of covid-19 cases rising rapidly in some areas. 12 october – health minister vaughan gething warns that wales could be placed under a new national lockdown in order to tackle rising cases of covid-19. first minister mark drakeford says he will give boris johnson a last chance to impose a travel ban on people entering wales from covid-19 hotspots in england, or will impose his own. a covid outbreak is declared at royal gwent hospital. 13 october – prime minister boris johnson again rejects calls for a wales travel ban on people from english covid-19 hotspots. a covid-19 outbreak is reported at swansea's morriston hospital. 14 october – mark drakeford, the first minister of wales, announces plans to ban visitors to wales from other parts of the uk with high covid-19 rates. 15 october – the university health board, cwm taf morgannwg has more cases of covid-19 than at any time since the pandemic was declared, with as many as 12 covid-19 patients being reported in hospitals each day. 16 october – wales introduces a travel ban on people from covid hotspots in other parts of the uk, beginning from 6pm. 17 october – a leaked letter from the director of the confederation of passenger transport to its members in wales sets out plans for a national lockdown from 23 october to 9 november. with the possibility of a second national lockdown for wales, hugh evans, the leader of denbighshire county council, calls for clarity on the issue from the welsh government. 19 october – the welsh government announces a "short, sharp" lockdown from friday 23 october to monday 9 november, during which pubs, restaurants and hotels will close and people will be told to stay at home. the "firebreak" measures are timed to coincide with the autumn half term, and schools will return on monday 2 november for pupils up to year eight. 20 october – welsh government ministers say they cannot rule out another "firebreak" lockdown early in 2021 if covid cases rise again over christmas. a mobile testing site is established outside a food factory in bedwas, caerphilly to test 600 people at the unit after 19 workers test positive for covid-19. 21 october – public health wales records 962 new covid-19 cases and 14 deaths, the highest number of daily deaths since 30 may. figures indicate that hospital covid-19 cases have risen by 50% over the preceding week. 22 october – the welsh government announces plans to take the wales & borders franchise into public ownership from february 2021, following a significant drop in the number of passengers during the covid crisis. education minister kirsty williams announces an extra £10m of funding for student mental health services and hardship funds, while suggesting university students may be asked to self-isolate if they wish to return home for christmas. supermarkets are advised they must sell only "essential items" during the period of the 17-day lockdown; this excludes items such as clothing. amid concerns about increasing covid cases, dr chris williams, wales's deputy chief medical officer, says that people should