Covid alert level up to five
THE UK has been raised to the highest level of Covid-19 alert – Level 5 – for the first time, following a meeting of Wales’ chief medical officer and his counterparts in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In a joint statement signed by all of the UK’s chief medical officers (CMOs) they all agreed to move from Level 4 to Level 5, which is the highest alert level.
The statement from CMO for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, as well as Professor Chris Whitty (England), Dr Gregor Smith (Scotland), Dr Michael McBride (NI) and national medical director at NHS England Professor Stephen Powis said they were “not confident that the NHS can handle a further sustained rise in cases” and that “without further action there is a material risk of the NHS in several areas being overwhelmed over the next 21 days”.
In full the statement said: “Following advice from the Joint Biosecurity Centre and in the light of the most recent data, the four UK Chief Medical Officers and NHS England Medical Director recommend that the UK Alert Level should move from Level 4 to Level 5.
“Many parts of the health systems in the four nations are already under immense pressure. There are currently very high rates of community transmission, with substantial numbers of Covid patients in hospitals and in intensive care.
“Cases are rising almost everywhere, in much of the country driven by the new more transmissible variant.
“We are not confident that the NHS can handle a further sustained rise in cases and without further action there is a material risk of the NHS in several areas being overwhelmed over the next 21 days.
“Although the NHS is under immense pressure, significant changes have been made so people can still receive life-saving treatment.
“It is absolutely critical that people still come forward for emergency care.”
SCHOOLS and colleges across Wales will move to online learning until January 18, the country’s Education Minister has said.
Kirsty Williams said the Welsh Government would use the next two weeks to work with local authorities and education settings to “best plan for the rest of the term”.
The Welsh Government had previously arranged for schools to have flexibility over the first two weeks of the spring term, allowing them to choose when students would return to in-person learning.
But in a statement, Ms Williams said the decision to move to online learning only until January 18 had been taken in consultation with the Welsh Local Government Association and Colegau Cymru.
It followed the four chief medical officers agreeing that the UK was at the
“highest level of risk” in terms of coronavirus, she confirmed.
“This is the best way to ensure that parents, staff and learners can be confident in the return to faceto-face learning, based on the latest evidence and information,” Ms Williams said.
“Schools and colleges will remain open for children of critical workers and vulnerable learners, as well as for learners who need to complete essential exams or assessments.”
Special schools and pupil referral units should also remain open if possible, she said.
Previously, some schools in Wales had been preparing to resume faceto-face learning this week, but education unions called for a rethink of the plan.
Unions highlighted safety concerns in light of the new Covid-19 variant, spreading across Wales, which is said to be 70% more transmissible.
“We had initially given schools flexibility in the first two weeks of term to decide when to reopen based on local circumstances,” Ms Williams said.
“But it is now clear that a national approach of online learning for the first fortnight of term is the best way forward.
“We know that schools and colleges have been safe and secure environments throughout the pandemic.
“However, we also know that education settings being open can contribute to wider social mixing outside the school and college environment.”
Ms Williams said the
Welsh Government was “confident” that schools and colleges had online learning provisions in place for until January 18.
Universities in Wales are due to begin a staggered start to term and students should not return for face-to-face learning unless notified that they can do so, she added.
“Wales remains in the highest level of restrictions. Everyone must stay at home,” Ms Williams said.
Bridgend County Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration Charles Smith said: “Schools will soon be notifying parents of the in-school provision available for the children of critical workers and vulnerable learners which will be available between January 6 and 8 (inclusive) and January 11 and 15 (inclusive).
“The position taken by Welsh Government takes into account the latest scientific and medical data available, and will be reviewed regularly.
“Online learning will continue for pupils with virtual classrooms and blended learning techniques in place.”
In Bridgend, a critical worker is defined as someone who works for one of the following organisations:
Health
Social care
Fire and rescue service Police
Ambulance service Education
Earlier in the day, Health Minister Vaughan Gething told a press conference that closing schools was a “last resort”, with any changes based on new evidence about the variant and its impact.
He rejected the suggestion of moving teachers into a higher priority group for vaccination, saying that doing so for those in the profession or others such as police officers or taxi drivers would impact those “at real risk of harm”.
Before Monday’s announcement, many local authorities, including Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf, said they would be keeping their schools shut this week, with the aim of returning to face-toface teaching on Monday, January 11, with the Vale of Glamorgan becoming the latest council to follow this course – until that aim was superseded by Monday’s ministerial announcement.
Education unions had earlier been calling for a rethink of the plans to reopen schools due to safety concerns after it was announced the Covid-19 variant spreading across Wales was 70% more