Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford has revealed that his government is planning for a two-or-three week "fire break" national lockdown.
He said that the plan would see people confined to their homes and businesses shutting for two or three weeks to give the virus a "short, sharp shock".
He did not announce a start date for the potential plan - but said he would hold meetings over the weekend and confirm on Monday.
If agreed it is expected it would come into force next Friday, 23 October.
It comes after Mr Drakeford's government introduced a travel plan which effectively bans people from England and elsewhere in the UK travelling to Wales.
Earlier this week, Labour leader Keir Starmer called for similar measures to be introduced in England - but it was ridiculed by Boris Johnson as unnecessary.
Mr Drakeford told a press conference in Cardiff: "We will all have to act together to bring levels of coronavirus down and to keep them down over the winter.
"We are looking very carefully at introducing a time-limited “fire-break” – also known as a circuit breaker of the type recommended by SAGE, the UK’s expert scientific advisory group, and our own advisers here in Wales.
"This would be a short, sharp shock to the virus, which could turn back the clock, slowing down its spread and buy us more time – and vital capacity in the NHS.
"A 'fire-break' would also mean a short, sharp shock to all our lives – it would mean shutting down businesses and the economy.
"We would all have to stay at home to once again save lives. But this time it would be for weeks not months.
"We’re considering a two or three-week “fire-break”. The shorter the period, the sharper the measures will have to be.
"A successful fire-break would re-set the virus at a lower level. Together with a new national set of rules for the whole of Wales after the fire-break period we would have slowed the virus down enough to get us through to Christmas."
This breaking news story is being updated.
