Great care and clarity are needed on plant outbreak
AHUNDRED days into this pandemic, the outbreak around the 2 Sisters plant in Llangefni has refocussed minds on the challenge we face.
With the plant closed, I asked for a number of assurances. The workers had to be fully paid during the suspension, and I was pleased to get that confirmation from 2 Sisters bosses. But we need assurances for the safety of the workforce and the community now and over coming months, too. Put simply, the pnat can’t reopen unless it’s safe, and if discussed operational changes with the Health and Safety Executive.
As work is done to make the plant safe, we need firm evidence of the robustness of the wider response. We’re lucky that Anglesey Council has been a leader in the roll out of tracing, and the island was an early pilot area. But the scale of this outbreak means tracing is done on a regional level.
However, the tracing is only as good as the testing process, and I’ve been concerned to hear of some workers facing long delays getting their test results. There are worries on a Waleswide level that a higher proportion of tests now than a few weeks ago are taking longer than 24 hours to come back. Without a quick turnaround in testing, the tracing can’t begin, and although we’re told the vast majority of tests have been returned within 24 hours, we need to know what’s happening when things go wrong.
Then when tracing happens, it’s important that those contacted and told to self-isolate are given the necessary support needed to do so. This is how outbreaks can be isolated quickly.
Some were quick to ask if we needed a further lockdown. We already remain under movement restrictions of course, but the option has to be kept open of introducting local lockdown restrictions in any area where outbreaks occur. Welsh Ministers have signalled that they agree, but we need clear guidelines on how it would happen.
Who makes the call? At which point? What restrictions should be considered? And what additional support may be available?
Following the 2 Sisters outbreak, the Council made the correct call not to reopen schools here, but what we need to be very careful about is to monitor for any signs that the outbreak at the plant is resulting in wider community transmission. This is something that I asked the Health Minister about in the Senedd last week. Should there be signs of more widespread community transmission, such as that which has led to the increased lockdown measures in Leicester in England this week, then we need to know that Government is ready to act.
Thank you to everyone working so hard in so many different areas who are looking after us in these difficult times – please get in touch with my office if there is anything we can do to help on rhun.apiorwerth@senedd.cymru.