Mandatory masks in shops will help avoid spikes in the first place
IT’S good to be back writing to you all after a short break at the end of the summer, at the start of a busy September, with plenty to be discussing in terms of the latest with the pandemic and how it is affecting us here on Anglesey.
What is important is that we strive to keep the number of cases down. The latest statistics, which are overall quite promising with one death in Wales in the last 10 days at the time of writing – although one is too many, of course – but also on a county level, Anglesey’s number of cases in recent times is very low, too – among the lowest in Wales.
We need to make sure that restrictions do stay as tight as they need to be, whilst allowing us to regain our freedom gradually.
I was in England last week, where it is mandatory to wear masks in shops, and I think it works well, which is why I’ve been calling for this to happen in Wales for some months now. It’s normal then when everybody wears a mask and does their bit to keep people safe.
It’s worrying to see the lockdown in Caerphilly County this week, but for the Government to say that everyone should now wear a face covering in shops in Caerphilly, AFTER the spike in cases, seems rather odd.
Surely best do it to try to help avoid the spike in the first place?
It is great to see schools going back this week. Nobody wanted to see our pupils and students going without formal school education for months. Parents and teachers have been working very, very hard since lockdown began to keep educating our young people, and to have the children now back in school is a welcome boost for everyone.
It does mean an additional risk, of course, and that is why I’ve been asking for the introduction of a strategy for broad testing of pupils and teachers. To have a strategy to identify ways of testing in areas where there is a higher incidence of Covid-19 or where there are clusters of cases, for example, seems a good use of resources to me. It is about keeping teachers, pupils and their families safe.
One of the issues that is a problem for many of you is school transport. We’ve had contact from a number of parents, worried that the loss of bus services due to Covid-19 is having a knock-on effect on those needing to use buses to get to school. This is something my team is working on to see if we can get additional information from Welsh Government on how funding will be returning to support routes that have been cut or are facing difficulties. There are many elements to the strain being put on families here by Covid-19 and that is just another one.
I’ll finish again with a thank you to all of those working so hard to take care of us and look after us all at what is a challenging time for so many. Do take care of yourselves and your loved ones as well, and get in touch with my office on rhun.apiorwerth@senedd. wales if we can help anybody in any way.