The regulations before us today that I formally move and ask the Senedd to support are the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 2) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 16) (Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham) Regulations 2020. I'll now refer to them as the relevant amendment regulations. The No. 16 regulations refer to Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham. And I move the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 2) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 17) Regulations 2020.

As we've seen through the course of the coronavirus pandemic, we have taken an evidence-based approach, taking account of the latest advice from the chief medical officer's department and our own scientific advisers within the Welsh Government. We continue to see a rise in coronavirus across the country. We took the decision to introduce additional measures across four authorities in north Wales on the basis of a continued rise and an expected rise from our professional and public health advisers in the four relevant areas. We use not only metrics around the data in cases per 100,000, but we also use information from our test, trace and protect service about the likely rises in cases, and also our consultants in communicable diseases.

On that basis, we acted to implement the regulations on a consistent pattern that Members will now be familiar with. These introduced requirements to stay within county unless there was a reasonable excuse not to do so, and we have been before through the list of reasonable excuses. We introduced a range of measures, including the ending of extended households. As Members will recall, we have now introduced regulations that mean that single adult households can still group together with another household, but it is a maximum of two in any event, in an exclusive arrangement.

The local travel regulations are the ones that have gathered the most attention, and, again, the current evidence has been that restrictions on travel do have an impact in reducing incidence of the virus. You'll see that, today, the First Minister has written again to the Prime Minister seeking reciprocal arrangements to make sure that people from high-incidence areas can't travel into and through Wales. We've also provided information that sets out again the evidence before us, that travel into and out of areas does make a difference in terms of the virus transmission.

These are difficult and balanced choices that we have to make about how we keep Wales safe. I recognise there is a variety of views on all of the measures that we seek to take, but I do ask Members to support them, in particular as, since introducing these regulations, we have seen the expected rise in cases in these four authorities. But we also now face many more significant and difficult choices to make as we seek to keep Wales safe and, in particular, as we seek to do so ahead of a very, very challenging winter and autumn. I look forward to hearing Members' contributions and responding to the debate. Thank you, Llywydd.