Coronavirus – the advice
A TOTAL of 136 cases and one death from coronavirus have been confirmed in Wales.
The latest update from the Department for Health in Westminster shows 55 people across the UK have died, and 52 people have recovered.
On Tuesday, 12 more cases were reported in Wales bringing the total number to 136.
A 69-year-old patient, with underlying health issues, has died at Wrexham’s Maelor Hospital.
On Monday evening, Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced a stronger series of measures designed to stifle the spread of the outbreak, which he said was now approaching the “fast growth of the upward curve”.
He advised the public: That anyone with a cough or fever should stay at home for 14 days, and anyone living with someone with those symptoms should do the same;
Where possible, people should start working from home;
To avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other social venues;
To only use the NHS when absolutely necessary;
That the Government would no longer support mass gatherings with emergency workers.
Mr Johnson addressed the nation after chairing an emergency meeting of the Cobra committee on Monday afternoon before the first of the daily press conferences planned to update the public on Covid-19.
Advice from public health authorities has changed significantly in recent days. We have compiled this article to bring together all the latest information on schools, work, social gatherings and how you should respond if you fall ill.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
The two key symptoms of coronavirus that the NHS website says to look out for are a high temperature and a new, continuous cough.
The NHS says that a high temperature will feel hot to touch on your chest or back if you don’t have a thermometer and that the cough will involve repeated coughing.
NHS Direct Wales has launched a coronavirus symptom checker which asks you questions to determine if you need to take further action or self isolate.
What should I do if I have symptoms?
People who think they have coronavirus are asked not to call 111 or to contact their GP, pharmacy or hospital. The NHS says you do not need to be tested at this stage.
You are instead asked to stay at home and self-isolate for a period of 14 days.
Anyone living with a person with these symptoms should also self-isolate for 14 days.
What if my symptoms change?
The NHS website says you should use the online 111 service if you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home; your condition gets worse; or your symptoms do not get better after seven days.
What does self isolating mean?
You should:
Try to keep at least two metres away from others in your home, especially those who are elderly or have long-term health conditions;
Ask friends, family and delivery services to deliver food, medicine and any other essentials;
Sleep alone if possible; Regularly wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds;
Try to stay away from the elderly;
Drink plenty of water and take painkillers such as paracetamol, to ease the symptoms.
Do not:
Have visitors attend gatherings;
Leave your house and attend a public place. at or
If I’ve been abroad, do I have to self isolate?
If you are going or have recently been abroad, you are asked to check the latest Foreign Office advice on the country you have visited.
Anyone returning from Italy, China or Iran, for example, is asked to self isolate for 14 days whether they have symptoms or not.
The Foreign Office is advising against all but essential travel to Italy, Spain, Iran and China.
Where will I be treated if I am diagnosed with Covid-19?
At the moment, NHS Wales says patients are being treated in “clinically appropriate locations”.
That means patients with mild symptoms are being allowed to self-isolate in their own homes. Patients with a more serious reaction to the virus are being treated in hospitals – several are understood to be in isolation facilities in English hospitals.
If I have an elderly relative or neighbour, what should I do?
On Monday evening, Mr Johnson said by the weekend, groups particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 will be asked to stay at home for 12 weeks.
He said: “In a few days time, by this coming weekend it will be necessary to go further and to ensure that those with the most serious health conditions are largely shielded from social contact for around 12-weeks.”
Mr Johnson added: “This advice about avoiding all social contact is particularly important for people over 70, for pregnant women and for those with some health conditions.”
Evidence clearly shows that people over the age of 70 are the most at risk from Covid-19.
Care homes are asking people not to visit to avoid spreading the disease to those who are the most vulnerable.
A postcard created to allow people to offer help to the elderly without putting them at risk is being widely shared online – to enable people to offer to get shopping or medicine for the vulnerable without putting them at risk.
Public Health England has said that people with symptoms should avoid seeing older relatives to avoid passing it on, regardless of whether they have had a test for the virus or not.
There is due to be more guidance issued next week on how to look after the elderly.
What is the situation on school closures?
The latest instruction from governments in Wales and Westminster to schools is to stay open.
Yet schools have been instructed to prepare to shut and many have written to parents telling them that teachers are preparing materials that children can access from home.
Preparation is also underway for exams in case schools have to shut for several months.
Some schools have removed water fountains and assemblies have been cancelled.
Dr Rob Orford, the Welsh Government’s chief scientific adviser for health, said that when schools do close it could be for up to three months.
He said: “We know that when we bring in a control measure it’s going to be in for quite some time, it might be there for three months. If we do that to schools it would be very disruptive.”
It has been suggested in England that some kind of schooling may be brought in to enable health workers to continue to work.
What about gigs and social gatherings?
During Monday’s press conference, Mr Johnson urged people to “avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such venues”.
He added: “Lastly, it remains true – as we said in the last few weeks – that this sort of transmissions of the disease at mass gatherings such as sporting events are relatively low, but obviously, logically, as we advise against unnecessary social contact of all kinds, it’s right that we should extend that advice to mass gatherings as well.
“And so we’ve also got to ensure that we have the critical workers we need that might otherwise be deployed for those gatherings, to deal with those emergencies.
“So from tomorrow we will no longer be supporting mass gatherings with emergency workers in the way that we normally do.”
Sporting bodies have already called off most fixtures at all levels.
Who is most at risk?
The elderly are most likely to be at risk. People who are over the age of 60 are at a higher risk of developing a severe case of Covid-19, according to data collected by the World Health Organisation. The highest death rate is in people above the age of 80.
Other conditions that may put people at risk include diabetes, high blood pressure and underlying lung or heart conditions.
What is the NHS doing to prepare?
Non-urgent outpatient and surgical care will be suspended in Wales due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Contingency planning is also being undertaken to create more intensive care capacity and repurpose wards and operating theatres to enable patients with coronavirus to be treated separately to patients with other conditions.
Health minister Vaughan Gething said the most important action was to give staff time to train and be re-deployed as the number of coronavirus cases continues to grow.
Access to cancer and other essential treatments like renal dialysis will be maintained.
I’m pregnant or have a newborn, what should I do?
Pregnant women are now being grouped alongside the elderly and vulnerable people as part of the government’s latest advice.
This means pregnant women are being advised to avoid all “unnecessary” social contact.
Public Health England’s chief medical officer Chris Whitty described this as “a precautionary measure” because “we are early in our understanding of this virus and we want to be sure, [so will include] women who are pregnant”.
There is currently no clinical evidence to suggest that the virus can be transmitted through breast milk although infection can be spread to the baby in the same way as to anyone in close contact with you.
Public Health Wales says the benefits of breastfeeding outweigh any potential risks of transmission of the virus through breastmilk.