London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Covid: Second phase of mass testing starts in Lower Cynon Valley

Covid: Second phase of mass testing starts in Lower Cynon Valley

Mass coronavirus testing has started in one of the areas hardest-hit by Covid-19 in Wales in a bid to bring the virus under control.

People living or working in the Lower Cynon Valley - which includes Abercynon, Penrhiwceiber and parts of Mountain Ash and Aberaman - will be offered tests.

Test centres will run from Saturday until 20 December.

It is the second place in Wales to have mass testing after Merthyr Tydfil.

Residents in Mountain Ash East and West, and Aberaman South residents, are also eligible for the tests, which give results in 30 minutes.


Dr Kelechi Nnoaham: "People in the Lower Cynon Valley can play a major role in protecting everyone in our communities"


Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board public health director, Dr Kelechi Nnoaham, said: "The rate of Covid-19 infection is still very high in our communities, and by engaging with this testing programme, people in the Lower Cynon Valley can play a major role in protecting everyone in our communities."

The main test centres are at Cynon Valley Indoor Bowls Centre, Mountain Ash and Abercynon Sports Centre.


John Collins took his test at the bowls centre


John Collins, 88, from Penrhiwceiber, who took a test at the bowls centre, said: "At my age you have to try and avoid getting this virus."

The testing programme will use so-called lateral flow devices which can get results in about 20-30 minutes.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.

If a person tests positive, they will be asked to return home so they can self-isolate immediately.

Concerns have been raised by some experts that people who are declared negative could have a misplaced sense of reassurance.

If someone tests negative, they should still follow the rules, and maintain social distancing, hand hygiene and mask wearing.

Rhondda Cynon Taf council leader Andrew Morgan said about 27,000 people could be tested in the Lower Cynon Valley.

"Unfortunately, over the last week or so, we are seeing our cases starting to increase at quite a concerning rate," he told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Oliver Hides.


Mass coronavirus testing will run until 20 December in the Lower Cynon Valley


He said the area had seen 300 positive cases in the last two days so it was "important" to identify and isolate those who were asymptomatic within communities to break "chains of transmission".

"This is an integral part of our fight against the virus, as it gives us a greater understanding of the prevalence and level of transmission within our communities," he said.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: "I would encourage the people of Lower Cynon Valley to get tested."

The Merthyr pilot for mass testing, which launched last month, will run until 11 December.

Covid-19 case rates in south Wales


The case rate in Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) is 368.5 per 100,000, reporting 889 new positive tests in the past week.



The south Wales valleys had been dominating for highest case rates and having fallen back early in November, the rates have now started to move up again.

In the most recent comparable week, Torfaen, Blaenau Gwent and Neath Port Talbot have been among the 10 highest case rate areas in the UK.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
×