ON THE eve of local lockdown restrictions, Torfaen's council leader has called on residents to "pull together" and protect each other.

Local restrictions are being imposed across the whole of Torfaen from 6pm tomorrow (Monday), the Welsh Government announced earlier today amid "rising rates" of coronavirus in the area.

Following the announcement, Torfaen council leader Anthony Hunt said: "I know the introduction of restrictions is always a difficult decision, but it is a decision I support in order to protect people’s health and to try and break the chain of transmission in Torfaen and stop the situation from getting worse.

"We have already seen this strategy work effectively in Caerphilly and Newport where numbers have dropped dramatically due to people adhering to the new rules."

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Cllr Hunt followed up by urging community spirit among Torfaen residents.

"It is now really important everyone in Torfaen follows the rules to help to bring coronavirus under control," he said. "We need everyone to pull together and to follow the measures which are there to protect you and your loved ones."

The imposition of a lockdown in Torfaen means that, from tomorrow, Monmouthshire will be the only one of Gwent's five council areas not subject to local Covid-19 restrictions.

This evening, Monmouthshire County Council's chief executive, Paul Matthews, took to Twitter to warn residents against complacency.

"It is not inevitable that [Monmouthshire] will join this club," Mr Matthews said. "Do the right things to maintain travel freedoms, see family members indoors, [and] stay vigilant everywhere but particularly around Abergavenny."

Mr Matthews later said he had made his Abergavenny comments because of the town's "proximity to Blaenau Gwent, Merthyr and [the] top end of Caerphilly" – where local lockdowns are already in force and the infection rates have recently been higher than in Monmouthshire.