Gwynedd residents are being urged to keep up their efforts against Covid-19.

The latest figures show adhering to the recent firebreak rules has helped reduce Covid cases in the county, and public bodies leading the effort locally are urging the county’s residents to continue to follow the rules so that good work is not undone.

Authorities have praised in particular the efforts of the county’s schools, colleges and university, as well as residential homes and local businesses, for responding robustly and effectively to cases of the virus reported in Gwynedd.

Council leader Dyfrig Siencyn said: “The data for Gwynedd is encouraging at the moment. Our thanks go to the county’s residents, organisations and businesses for playing their part over the last few weeks.

"In particular there has been extremely effective collaboration between the council, health and care services and the local education sector in managing cases.

“We also want to praise Bangor University and Coleg Llandrillo-Menai students locally for their efforts in following the guidance and working hard to help contain the virus when cases appeared among the student population.

“But despite these efforts, it is more important than ever that we keep up the good work and not to start thinking that we can rest on our laurels.

“What happens next is in the hands of us all as individuals, organisations and businesses and we encourage residents to think about the actions they take. If we can keep to the national rules, there is a real hope that we can keep our communities safe and avoid a situation where our health service here in Gwynedd is overwhelmed.”

Aled Jones-Griffith, Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and Coleg Menai principal added: “We recognise that this year has been a challenging time for our learners.

“As an organisation, we have been pleased with the way in which they have adapted to new routines and adhered to government regulations, both in and outside of college, to keep everyone safe.

“As this first term draws to a close, we would like to thank all of our learners for their efforts in reducing the transmission of the virus and to wish them a relaxing Christmas break.”