These are the coronavirus morning headlines for Wednesday, October 7, as ten more people have died with coronavirus in Wales and more than 400 new positive cases have been identified.
Latest figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) for Tuesday (October 6), show that 425 new positive cases have been diagnosed following a lab test. See all the latest figures here.
It takes the overall total of confirmed Covid-19 cases to 26,872 since the outbreak began last March.
PHW also said that 10 new deaths among people who had tested positive had been reported to them, bringing the total to 1,640.
That is the highest number of deaths recorded in a single day since June 4 when 12 deaths were confirmed.
It means that the R rate in Wales has increased significantly with cases increasing by as much as 5% a day.
Merthyr Tydfil currently has the highest rate of infections in Wales with 180.7 cases per 100,000 people based on a rolling seven-day average, down from 192.3 on Monday.
Rhondda Cynon Taf closely follows this figure at 170.8 per 100,000 of population, again down from 184.4 the day before.
The other local authority areas recording more than 100 cases per 100,000 included Bridgend with 112.2 , Swansea with 111.7 , Cardiff with 107.9 , Blaenau Gwent with 107.4 , Wrexham with 103 and Flintshire with 101.9.
The Wales overall infection rate is 81.9 per 100,000, which is down on 84.5 recorded the day before.
The Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton, will hold a press conference on Wednesday to update on the latest coronavirus situation in Wales. It will be at 12.30pm and will be covered live here.
Mark Drakeford's anger at Boris Johnson
The First Minister has said that Boris Johnson is "disrespecting the people of Wales" after the Prime Minister ignored a letter requesting he stop people travelling to Wales from areas of England with high coronavirus infection rates.
Speaking in Plenary at the Senedd, Mr Drakeford expressed his anger that Mr Johnson, who is also "the Minister for the Union", had still not replied to his letter after more than a week.
Responding to a question from Plaid leader Adam Price, Mr Drakeford said: "I share his sense of disappointment at the Prime Minister's apparent conclusion, and I say apparent because although he gave an interview in which he opined on this matter he is yet to reply to my letter to him of Monday last week."
The First Minister added: "I think that is deeply disrespectful, not to me but to the Senedd and to people here in Wales. I do expect to see a reply to that letter and I expect to see a rationale set out in that letter that explains why the Prime Minister appears to have come to his conclusion." Read more of what he had to say here.
Unlike in Wales, where people in areas in local lockdown are banned from leaving their county without a reasonable excuse, in England there are no such restrictions.
Next year's Six Nations could be moved
The 2021 Six Nations could be delayed in a bid to get more fans into the stadium to watch the matches.
Professional sport in Wales is currently taking place behind closed doors, with Wales set to face Scotland and Georgia in an empty Parc y Scarlets this autumn.
Last month, with much of the nation in local lockdown, Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford said: "[It is] difficult to be optimistic about a swift return of crowds to sporting events."
And Wales head coach Wayne Pivac has now revealed discussions will take place, assessing whether or not delaying the tournament may be the best option.
"Who knows when the next Six Nations will be played?," posed Pivac after naming his 38-man squad for this autumn's fixtures.
"There is talk that it may be pushed out slightly, with the current climate around what this virus might be doing.
Powerful video shows how coronavirus has spread
Vaughan Gething has shared a video showing how coronavirus had spread through Wales during the pandemic second wave.
Wales' health minister presented the video as he gave a briefing on the Welsh Government's response to the pandemic earlier this week.
During the speech he talked about how the virus had spread through Wales after being strongly suppressed during the middle of the summer.
Accompanying his speech was a chilling video from the SAIL Databank team at Swansea University Medical School which showed how the virus had worked its way back into our communities.
To start with, there are just a few patches in Wrexham and Caerphilly but the virus the tears through the areas surrounding Caerphilly in south Wales, moving into Rhondda Cynon Taf and Merthyr and the entire region.
At the same time, the same pattern of spread is being seen slightly later in north Wales. See more details of the video here.
Landlord dies after urging support for lockdown area pubs to shut
A "legendary" Abercynon landlord known for his love of music has died weeks after calling for support to allow pubs in lockdown areas to close.
Tributes have been paid to Keith Peacock, 76, after his sudden passing on October 3.
Known to many as the heart of the Abercynon community, Keith took over the Thorn Hotel as landlord and owner 23 years ago.
Over the years the grandfather and great-grandfather made the pub a home for musicians from all backgrounds, raising thousands of pounds for charity through his music events.
After testing positive for Covid-19 Keith became unwell, although the cause of his death remains unknown.
Now he has been remembered as a doting family man and generous friend who would "never say no to anyone."
New restrictions to be announced for Scotland
Nicola Sturgeon is due to announce new coronavirus restrictions in a statement to the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
The First Minister is expected to set out the details of the next steps the Scottish Government will take at around 2.50pm.
She has said the new measures will not amount to Scotland going into another lockdown as was the case in March.
The announcement will follow a cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning when details of the new restrictions will be decided.
The First Minister has described the situation as "the most difficult decision point we have faced so far".
However, the closure of schools has been ruled out, as have Scotland-wide travel restrictions.
There will be no requirement for people to stay inside their homes most of the time, as was the case in March, though some additional measures in "hotspot" areas might be necessary.
Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said she was receiving "very strong" public health advice that new measures were needed in response to rising Covid-19 cases.
Infections are beginning to spread from younger sections of the population to older age groups, she said.
The average number of daily cases rose from 285 two weeks ago - when the ban on indoor household visiting was introduced - to 729.
Ms Sturgeon added: "The situation is not out of control, but it is a cause of increasing concern."
There has been speculation of further restrictions on the hospitality sector, which led to a trade body voicing deep concern on Tuesday evening.
Emma McClarkin, of the Scottish Beer & Pub Association, said: "If the Scottish Government is to implement further harsh restrictive measures to our sector, it must include a dedicated package of support alongside it.
"Without it, the Scottish Government will leave our pubs and thousands of jobs doomed to failure."
Anger over travel expert's Wales staycation advice
Half-term is fast approaching and many people have been questioning whether or not to go away in the current climate.
To help, ITV's This Morning welcomed Simon Calder onto the show for a segment called: "Should you risk a half-term staycation?"
The travel expert covered concerns over cancelled trips and made sure people knew their rights during his television slot.
One of Simon's tips, however, was that people could visit areas in mid Wales.
He pointed out Machynlleth in Powys and Aberystwyth in Ceredigion as possible getaway destinations among others.
But people were left frustrated with the advice because of the local lockdowns currently in place and aired their views on social media. Read what they had to say here.
Local lockdowns are 'not working, warn northern leaders
Local lockdown restrictions are "not working", confusing and even "counter-productive", leaders of northern cities have warned as the rate of coronavirus cases almost doubled in a week.
Leaders in Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Leeds warned Health Secretary Matt Hancock that they would not support further "economic lockdowns" and called for new powers to tackle the resurgence.
Professor John Edmunds, who is advising the Government's coronavirus response, joined the criticism of local measures on Tuesday and said new national restrictions were needed immediately.
The calls came as the UK-wide seven-day rate increased to 125.7 Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people from 63.8 a week ago, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
The leaders of Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle city councils - Judith Blake, Sir Richard Leese and Nick Forbes - joined Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson to write to the Health Secretary to say they are "extremely concerned" with the rise in cases.
"The existing restrictions are not working, confusing for the public and some, like the 10pm rule, are counter-productive," the Labour politicians wrote.
They called for additional powers to punish those who break rules, for new restrictions to be developed by police, council and public health experts and for a locally-controlled test and trace system.
"We want to be clear however that we do not support further economic lockdowns," the leaders added.
Donald Trump ends Covid budget stimulus relief talks
The US President has said he is ending negotiations over a Covid-19 relief bill, and will only resume talks after the election.
He predicted he would win next month's election and pass a bill afterwards. US stocks fell after the announcement.
Budget talks between Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin began in July.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said Mr Trump had "turned his back" on the American people.
"Make no mistake: if you are out of work, if your business is closed, if your child's school is shut down, if you are seeing layoffs in your community, Donald Trump decided today that none of that - none of it - matters to him," Mr Biden said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Republican president - who is himself currently being treated for Covid-19 - countered: "Crazy Nancy Pelosi and the Radical Left Democrats were just playing 'games' with the desperately needed Workers Stimulus Payments.
"They just wanted to take care of Democrat failed, high crime, Cities and States. They were never in it to help the workers, and they never will be!"
Three major universities move to online learning
The restart of Britain's education sector has been dealt a severe blow after three of the country's largest universities shifted to online classes due to coronavirus outbreaks.
More than 50 universities in the UK have confirmed cases of Covid-19, after thousands of undergraduates returned to campus for the start of the autumn term.
Manchester University, where there have been 382 coronavirus cases since September 21, joined with Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Sheffield in announcing a move to online learning to protect the health of students and staff.
The Manchester universities said they had made the decision together in consultation with the area's director of public health, supported by Public Health England.
They added they would increase the level of online learning for most programmes from Wednesday until October 30, which would be reviewed on October 23, and face-to-face teaching would continue for some clinical or practice-based classes.
The University of Sheffield - where nearly 500 students and staff have tested positive since the start of term - said face-to-face teaching would continue on Wednesday and Thursday before it is suspended from Friday, with in-person classes to resume on October 19.
Meanwhile, staff at the coronavirus-hit Northumbria University have called on vice-chancellor Andrew Wathey to resign as UCU members agreed to ballot for industrial action over health and safety concerns.
The university announced on Friday that 770 students had tested positive to Covid-19, including 78 who were symptomatic, with those testing positive now self-isolating in their accommodation.
Michelle Donelan announced the Department for Education (DfE) is launching a hotline this week - in conjunction with Public Health England (PHE) - dedicated to university staff and students.
