In the last 24 hours, 150 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in Wales.

Data released by Public Health Wales on September 8 shows that there were 150 new cases today compared to just 18 on September 7.

There were 98 news cases reported on September 6.

Of these, 15 were reported in the Betsi Cadwalader Health Board region.

The majority of new cases have been in South Wales, with the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, which included Caerphilly where the first local lockdown in Wales has been invoked, recording 56 new cases.

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, which covers Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and the Rhondda recorded 36 new cases.

In North Wales, there were six new reported cases in Wrexham and three in Flintshire.

Conwy, Denbighshire and Gwynedd also recorded two new cases each. There were no new cases reported on Anglesey.

Wrexham remains the county with the highest total of positive cases with 1,435, compared to 831 in Denbighshire, 792 in Flintshire, 741 in Conwy, 635 in Gwynedd and 469 in Anglesey.

There were no deaths related to coronavirus in Wales today.

In total, 18,664 people have tested positive in Wales since the pandemic started with 371,943 carried out.

Today, the first local lockdown in Wales has been put in place after a spike in cases in Caerphilly.

Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales supports the restrictions which are being put in place by the Welsh Government and Caerphilly Council. These measures are essential to limit the spread of Coronavirus and bring transmission under control.

“The measures include the mandatory wearing of face coverings in indoor spaces such as shops by everyone over the age of 11, limitations on travel in and out of the county, and only allowing people from different households to meet outdoors, not indoors – this includes extended households.

“Coronavirus can be a very serious illness, especially for older people or those with existing conditions, and a decision to introduce wide ranging restrictions such as these is not taken lightly. We remind the public that they have a vital role in preventing the spread of Coronavirus, and that adhering to these restrictions is of the utmost importance.”

“I would appeal to everyone in the Caerphilly area that if you have even the mildest of COVID-19 symptoms – a high temperature or fever, a new and persistent cough, or a loss or change in your sense of smell or taste, or even if you feel generally unwell with no explanation, to make use of the local testing units.

“In order to manage high demand for testing in the county, then the walk-in local testing unit at Caerphilly Leisure Centre will continue operating for a further week, until Tuesday 15 September.

“An additional drive-through testing unit has also been established at the Caerphilly County Borough Council offices in Tredomen Business Park, Ystrad Mynach. This site will also be operational until Tuesday 15 September, and its opening hours are 8am to 6pm.

“As children return to schools, I understand that parents will be concerned at reports of positive cases. I would urge you to follow advice from the school or local authority and only withdraw children from school when asked to do so. Social distancing measures that are in place are designed to prevent the spread of the disease beyond the ‘bubbles’ established in schools.

“Again it is important that children maintain regular handwashing throughout the day, and on returning home, and parents’ help with this is vital.

“We are now seeing a steady increase in cases in a number of communities across Wales, and our investigations show that many of these have been transmitted due to a lack of social distancing.

“This has resulted in the spread of the virus to other groups of people."