Neath Port Talbot (NPT) Council’s leader says the high number of coronavirus cases in the area is mainly down to people mixing with other households.

Councillor Rob Jones said people mixing with others outside of their bubbles is the main reason why positive cases of the virus are high in the county borough and why a local lockdown remains in place.

“It’s the community transmission from households that’s worrying me more than anything”, said Cllr Jones.

“People are breaking the social distancing measures, the handwashing, the six to a house rule and no meeting inside. The are continuing to meet family, and continuing to socialise with their neighbours.

“I think the problem has emanated from the relaxation of the national lockdown scenario that we started to ease out of in June. People have gone back into the mindset of ‘Covid’s gone away’.”

He said the people who are breaking the rules are either doing so knowingly or because they do not understand them. For example, he said a resident recently contacted the council to find out whether they could break the current lockdown restrictions and travel to Swansea to buy a birthday cake. 

The Labour councillor said he is now being contacted by “a lot more” coronavirus deniers who are asking him to write to the Welsh and UK Governments requesting for the local lockdown to be lifted.

“I’m getting emails from people saying ‘Covid doesn’t exist’, ‘It’s a made-up virus’, ‘It’s to stifle their freedom’. My response to that is: just go and speak to someone, a family that’s lost someone from Covid or a nurse in intensive care units.”

He also said there is a “lack of clarity between what you can do in England and what you can do in Wales” and that he supports the First Minister’s decision to limit travel to Wales from parts of England.

According to Cllr Jones, the Welsh and UK governments can only do so much to combat the spread of the virus but it is largely the responsibility of individuals.

“The destiny of coming out of lockdown is in the hands of the community. We can put as many rules as we like in place.

“Whether people obey those rules and regulations is a matter for them. The more they flout those rules the longer we are likely to be in lockdown.

“Our numbers are over 100. We’re not going to come out of lockdown any time soon in Neath Port Talbot and it’s the same with Swansea and Bridgend, for example.”

He said he is more concerned about “the lack of following the rules within the community” than the potential spread of Covid-19 in pubs and restaurants.

“It’s very clear that the transmission rates are becoming higher because of community transmission. 

“Even Mark Drakeford has said they’ve got no evidence to suggest that the hospitality industry is any worse in transmitting Covid. It’s the behaviour of individuals that is causing the transmission.”

He added that the council is not publicising details on localised outbreaks of Covid-19 in the area because the data belongs to Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) and GDPR rules.

“You won’t find me making statements about outbreaks in areas because it’s not for me to say.

“We’re working collaboratively on a regional footprint and that is about as much as we can do to get the figures between Swansea and Neath Port Talbot.”

He also said the council will not share information on small numbers of positive cases in local businesses because it could cause them “reputational damage”.

“It could close them and put them out of business completely in relation to that. If I as an authority said, for argument’s sake, “a chippy had two positive tests from members of staff, just wanted to let you know”, would you go shopping there?

“Let’s be fair, we haven’t really got an understanding of how this is spread. We’re told it’s through the exchange of liquid and we’re told it’s not airborne but I don’t think anyone’s really got a definitive answer.

“So that’s why most of the takeaways have got the plastic segregation screens and most, if not all, people wear masks when they go in there.”

However, he said the public will be notified when there are “significant” clusters of positive coronavirus cases in NPT, for example the previous outbreak at Aberpergwm mine. He also said enforcement officers are continuing to monitor whether local businesses are following coronavirus regulations.

In the upcoming months, Cllr Jones hopes residents will “take responsibility for their own safety” and “plan for a quiet Christmas”. 

“This is one Christmas where people really need to be sensible. They need to make sure that their safety is paramount.”

He also advised residents to avoid trick or treating this Halloween. “Is it safe to take young children to a stranger’s door, knock on the door and then be handed sweets which potentially could carry covid-19?

“You can’t bleach an apple or a bar of chocolate and for one year people need to be more sensible. There’s always next Halloween, there’s always next bonfire night, there’s always next Christmas.

“I think people have got to batten down the hatches for winter. People will get rid of this virus quicker if they comply with the rules.”

Cllr Jones said he is not sure when the local lockdown will end but would warned that lifting the restrictions too soon should be avoided.

“The science drove us to go into a lockdown and the science is maintaining the evidence to keep us in a lockdown. What I wouldn’t want to happen is to end up on a rollercoaster where we go into lockdown, numbers drop, we go out of lockdown, numbers go up and so on and so forth.

“Whether we’ll still be in lockdown then I don’t know. I certainly can’t see a relaxation in the next month. 

“I think that [coronavirus] will certainly be with us for at least a year or until a vaccine is developed that is successful.”