Thanks for following our live coverage of the Welsh Government's press briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.

Today, another 240,000 people will be preparing for restrictions to their daily lives, as a local lockdown begins in Rhondda Cynon Taf at 18:00 BST on Thursday.

The measures mean no one will be allowed to enter or leave the area without reasonable excuse, while pubs and bars will have to close at 23:00 BST every night from tomorrow.

The restrictions will be reviewed in two weeks' time.

What we also learned today:

• There have been no new deaths with coronavirus in Wales for the 15th day running, but there have been 199 new cases
• A number of pubs and bars have been closed in Rhondda Cynon Taf after breaching coronavirus regulations
• Up to five extra mobile testing centres will be deployed this week to cope with local hot spots
• There will be an extra 5,000 NHS beds - half in field hospitals - to cope with winter pressures, and any second wave of coronavirus

• Health Minister Vaughan Gething decided not to include his own mother in his so-called bubble, due to the risk he posed to her as he meets so many people

We'll keep you updated on the coronavirus situation in Wales via the BBC Wales News website and social media channels.

No-one has died with coronavirus in Wales since the end of August, Public Health Wales figures show.

Two people were confirmed to have died on 31 August, but no deaths have been reported since.

However the deaths only include people who died in hospitals and care homes, who tested positive for coronavirus and whose results were confirmed in a lab.

A lack of social-distancing is causing an increase in coronavirus in a number of communities, Public Health Wales has said.

On Wednesday, it confirmed there were 199 new cases but no new deaths.

Incident director Dr Robin Howe said the new local lockdown across Rhondda Cynon Taf from 18:00 BST Thursday was "essential to protect people's health and control the spread of coronavirus".

But Dr Howe said there was now "a steady increase in cases in a number of communities across Wales".

"Our investigations show that many of these have been transmitted due to a lack of social distancing," he said.

“Coronavirus has not gone away. It remains the responsibility of everyone to help prevent the spread of this virus to protect older and vulnerable family members and friends."

The number of people who have died with coronavirus in Wales remains at 1,597.

No new deaths were reported by Public Health Wales on Wednesday for the 15th day running.

However, 199 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed.

Local Democracy Reporting Service

Pontypridd councillor Heledd Fychan has expressed her disappointment at the local lockdown announced for Rhondda Cynon Taf.

New restrictions will take effect in this part of the south Wales valleys from 18:00 BST on Thursday.

Ms Fychan, a town and county councillor, said: “I’m hugely disappointed but not surprised to see the local lockdown being announced.

“More could have been done to try and prevent this countywide lockdown, including introducing hyper-local lockdowns around clusters and making face coverings mandatory sooner.

“But we are where we are. We must now must work together to adhere to the measures, and stop the further spread of the virus.“

Another 199 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Wales, taking the total to 19,880.

On Wednesday, no new deaths were reported, with the figure remaining at 1,597.

Public Health Wales figures show that 52 new cases were confirmed in Rhondda Cynon Taf, where the Welsh government has announced a local lockdown will begin tomorrow night.

In Caerphilly county borough, where restrictions are already in place, 36 new cases were confirmed.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething says people should not enter or leave Rhondda Cynon Taf from tomorrow evening without good reason.

Issues with processing test results across the UK must be resolved to help avoid wider local lockdowns, Wales' health minister has said.

People have reported having to travel long distances to get access to tests after demand caused issues with the testing system run under the Lighthouse labs partnership.

Vaughan Gething said the delays were "unhelpful" as contact tracing had been doing well, with 98% of new cases being successfully traced.

"The sooner the Lighthouse lab issue is resolved, the sooner we have that capacity and the faster turnaround that we're used to seeing, up until about three weeks ago," he said.

Mr Gething added that once testing issues were resolved ministers and health officials would be in a better position to understand clusters and take "smart lockdown measures" and have the ability to "avoid the much wider local lockdowns we're having to introduce today".

Image source, Getty Images

Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) is joining Caerphilly county borough under a local lockdown.

Rules are to be tightened from 18:00 BST on Thursday in RCT where coronavirus cases have continued to rise.

For the estimated 421,000 people in those two council areas who will be living under lockdown, it means a number of things have changed for the foreseeable future.

Read our guide to what you can and can't do.

There will be an extra 5,000 NHS beds - half in field hospitals - to cope with winter pressures, including a potential second wave of Covid-19 in hospitals.

Unveiling the winter plan for NHS Wales, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said it was "expected to be our most difficult yet".

The extra capacity is to deal with a worst-case scenario.

Meanwhile, the flu vaccine will be available to both people shielding and their families.

NHS Wales said without action taken in March, there could have been 100,000 hospital admissions as well as "very significant numbers of deaths".

Chief executive Dr Andrew Goodall said: "If there's a second peak, we have to have the NHS capacity in place."

Image source, Getty Images

While Caerphilly county borough was the first part of Wales to be placed into lockdown, the restrictions in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) are more severe.

From tomorrow night, pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants with alcohol licences will have to close at 23:00 BST.

But this has not been the case in Caerphilly county borough.

Speaking at the Welsh Government's press conference, Vaughan Gething said pubs were "a factor in transmission in RCT in a way that we didn't have evidence for within Caerphilly".

Asked why he was not closing all the pubs in Rhondda Cynon Taf, rather than just stopping late-night opening, the minister said it was not about "just the economic impact of people losing businesses and jobs".

"There will be people who carry on drinking, and if there are no opportunities to drink in licensed premises we may see more people breaking the rules and drinking in each other's homes," Mr Gething said.

"And that's a much more significant challenge for us in the spread of coronavirus."

Image source, PA Media

Wales' health minister has revealed he decided not to include his mother in his own extended household due to the risk of coronavirus.

An extended household, or so called bubble, allows people to meet family and friends indoors, hug and touch, and stay overnight.

But Vaughan Gething said he had not included his own mother in his extended household, due to the "bigger risk" he posed.

"I am more likely to be in contact with more people than my mother who is older and a different risk. So my mother isn't part of my extended household, so I don't go into her house," he said.

"I take shopping and leave it outside in a conservatory. I don't go indoors, because I recognise I represent a bigger risk."

The MP for Pontypridd has posted a video to urge people in Rhondda Cynon Taf to take care and stay safe as the area faces a local lockdown from Thursday evening.

Alex Davies-Jones says she will make more information available when she has it.

Teachers and school staff are picking up coronavirus from "interacting with each other, or other adults outside school" rather than pupils, Wales' health minister has said.

A number of schools across Wales have had to send pupils home since the new term started last week after cases were confirmed.

But Vaughan Gething said it was very clear from evidence in Wales and Scotland that pupils were not transmitting the virus to teachers.

"It isn't the case that those staff are put into a uniquely difficult place where they're likely to get Covid from their students," he said.

"It's actually adult-to-adult contact that is still the biggest factor, and the biggest concern."

Mr Gething said he expected there to be "further school classrooms that may need to isolate as people test positive, as we go through the autumn, and the winter".

He said there were "still very high attendance rates within our schools, and lots of students are back in school receiving education and enjoying it, just as my son is."

Coronavirus is "difficult" for people heading off to university, the health minister has said.

Many students across Wales will be moving away from home for the first time, as university courses start in the next few weeks.

Vaughan Gething said he understood it was "really difficult" for students to not have contact with people as they started their new lives.

"It's about thinking about the nature of the contact you have, in particular indoor contact," he said, adding that people should try to see a "reduced number of people".

Rhondda's member of the Senedd (MS) Leanne Wood has shared a video to tell people in her area about the local lockdown taking effect from Thursday evening.

She said not being able to leave the area without a "reasonable excuse" would prompt a lot of discussion over what was considered to be reasonable.

From Thursday evening the way tens of thousands of people live in Wales will change.

At 18:00 BST Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) will be placed under local lockdown, following an increase in cases.

Bars and pubs will have to close at 23:00 BST, while no-one will be able to travel in or out of the area without reasonable excuse, including for work.

The changes affect the estimated 240,131 people who live in the area, including major towns such as Aberdare, Llantrisant, Pontypridd and Tonypandy.

This area of the south Wales valleys with a history of mining and heavy industry now includes 17.5% of Wales’ most deprived communities.

Earlier this year hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged when the region was battered repeatedly by floods during storms Dennis and Ciara.

Billions of coins are made at the Royal Mint at Llantrisant, a major local employer with 900 staff.

The area is popular with swimmers heading for the lido in Pontypridd, which was damaged by flood waters in the storms.

The lockdown measures in Rhondda Cynon Taf will be reviewed in two weeks, Wales' health minister has said.

From 18:00 BST on Thursday, no-one will be able to enter or leave the council boundaries without reasonable excuse, and pubs will have to close at 23:00 BST.

Vaughan Gething said the measures would be reviewed after two weeks, but that it would take two or three weeks to see if they have had an impact.

He said there were "cautious reasons" for optimism, based on how lockdown measures were working in Caerphilly county borough.

The minister said there had been a "levelling off and a slight reduction in new cases there".

Image source, HoC

Cardiff South and Penarth Labour MP Stephen Doughty has tackled Boris Johnson at Prime Minister's Questions over problems with people getting tests.

He says: "It is clear the problems originate, not in Wales, but with the UK testing and online system which has led to rationing, chaos and confusion, and all the while the virus spreads further."

"This should have been seen coming months ago," he added.

"The prime minister is incompetent and he hasn't got control of this. When is he going to get a grip?"

Mr Johnson replied: "Once again the opposition is at risk of undermining the colossal work of NHS test and trace."

He says the government are "continuing to improve the system the whole time".

Wales' Health Minister Vaughan Gething says pubs have been a "real factor" in the spread of coronavirus in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT).

From Thursday, bars, pubs and restaurants with alcohol licences will have to close at 23:00 BST, ending late-night opening.

The local lockdown restrictions in RCT are more severe than in Caerphilly county borough, which was the first part of Wales to be placed under extra measures.

Mr Gething said: "A bar has been closed in Pontypridd after a series of breaches were captured on CCTV; a licensed premise was closed in Tonypandy, and improvement notices for another bar in Pontypridd and a barber's in Tonypandy have also been issued."

He said a further 50 licensed premises were visited by council officers over the weekend and more enforcement action – either improvement notices or closure orders – are likely to follow.