FACTORY OUTBREAK COULD HIT EASING OF LOCKDOWN
Welsh Government leaders say localised restrictions ‘not off table’ as cases at 2 Sisters top 200 – but no sign yet of wider spread:
THE First Minister said the changes to be confirmed to Wales’ lockdown on Friday would take into account the two outbreaks at food factories in Anglesey and Wrexham.
Investigations were ongoing to see whether the outbreaks at 2 Sisters in Llangefni and Rowan Foods in Wrexham had seeped into their wider communities, which could delay any relaxing of measures there if it was the case, he said.
“The early signs are encouraging that we are not seeing community seepage. But that week will be very important in that, if we don’t, the case for further measures will recede,” he said.
“If there is evidence of wider community transmission then we will take action to respond to it and do that on a local basis.”
Mr Drakeford said they had got in early and worked with the companies and the workforce, meaning people most directly affected were already in a lockdown of their own.
He revealed on Saturday that there had been 204 confirmed cases at the 2 Sisters plant in Llangefni (pictured above), which remains closed.
He said more than 500 workers had been tested.
He added 166 cases had been confirmed at Rowan Foods in Wrexham, with more than 1,000 people tested.
Speaking at a Welsh Government
coronavirus briefing, Mr Drakeford said: “These outbreaks are a sobering reminder that coronavirus has not gone away. It is still here with us in Wales.”
But he added any increase in the number of cases in these outbreaks did not mean the infection was increasing in the wider population.
Mr Drakeford said the Welsh Government would publish updated guidance for the meat processing and food production sector in Wales.
Food Innovation Wales has been commissioned to carry out a rapid review of the sector and the initial findings are with the Environment Minister.
In an interview with our sister paper The Daily Post, Health Minister Vaughan Gething discussed a possible local lockdown for Anglesey and responded to claims that some people tested related to the 2 Sisters outbreak had not had their results.
Mr Gething said: “I had a very constructive meeting with Ynys Môn authority, both the officers and the leader, and they had some anecdotal evidence there was a handful of people who were still awaiting test results.
“We have actually managed to turn around 97% of those test results in a day, but obviously those handful that are still waiting are a cause for concern for locals but also for me and the public health protection teams in local government and the health service.
“Yes we are chasing those up and we are also aware that there are a few dozen people who still need to be tested, they are being contacted and those contacts are being followed up.
“There’s an issue about the workforce. Some of them are local people who have been in the area for a very long time, and some of them are from other parts of the world – mostly Europe – and there’s a challenge there, both about travel to work arrangements where there is car sharing and transport sharing, and that of their living accommodation that are houses of multiple occupation (HMOs).
“The information in the community is that people understand what they are being asked to do, and of the implications of it for them and the implications for everyone, if that advice is not followed.
Relating to local lockdown possibilities, Mr Gething said: “No options are off the table.
“If people follow the advice they are given by a test, trace, protect service, then it will effectively operate as a smart targeted lockdown, because the individuals, families and contacts will be the people that are locked down.
“And that will prevent community transmission and will also mean that other parts of life can still continue.
“The challenge will come if we have to take further measures and people aren’t able to follow that advice for whatever reason.
“That can have an impact on business and its ability to reopen safely. It can also have a wider impact on community challenges as well.
“I don’t want to be in a position where we are having to close down wider community assets, because we are dealing with the real prospect or reality of community transmission.
“But no option is off the table. But the starting point is people follow the advice of test, trace and protect, that makes all those other measures much less likely.
“At the moment, we are not saying [local lockdown] is going to be an option going forward. But if we had to think about a localised lockdown, it would depend on the area, the purpose and the reason and what we were being required to close.
“In many ways, Anglesey is an easy example because it is an island and you could effectively police routes on and off it.
“In many ways the reason why we are in this position over the whole country, of having a declining rate of transmission and incidence, despite the two outbreaks in North Wales, is because the public have followed the rules in an overwhelming way.”