Six cases of infection now confirmed in Wales as minister expects Scotland game to go-ahead
TWO more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Wales, bringing the total number in the country to six, the chief medical officer has confirmed.
One patient from Neath Port Talbot had recently returned from northern Italy while the second patient from Newport had returned from southern Italy. They are not linked to each other.
Yesterday, Dr Frank Atherton said both people were being treated in “clinically-appropriate settings” and that Wales was prepared for further cases of the virus.
Dr Atherton said: “I can confirm that two additional individuals in Wales have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of positive cases in Wales to six.
“Both individuals are being managed in clinically-appropriate settings. All appropriate measures to provide care for the individuals and to reduce the risk of transmission to others are being taken.
“I’d like to take this opportunity to assure the public that Wales and the whole of the UK is prepared for these types of incidents. Working with our partners in Wales and the UK, we have implemented our planned response, with robust infection control measures in place to protect the health of the public.”
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said the process of identifying those who have had close contact with the new cases was under way.
Dr Shankar said: “The process of identifying and contacting close contacts of the two new cases is underway, and we are taking all appropriate actions to protect the public’s health.
“We can confirm that the two individuals are not linked to one another, and that they both travelled separately back to Wales from different parts of Italy. All Welsh residents who meet the current testing criteria for novel coronavirus are being offered testing.”
As of last Friday, 634 people in Wales had been tested, with more than 90% having done so at their homes.
At a press conference in Cardiff yesterday, health minister Vaughan Gething said Wales was still in the “contain” phase and there were no plans to shut schools or cancel mass gatherings.
He added that legislation will be pushed through as soon as possible to give Wales powers to close schools, bring NHS staff out of retirement or cancel big events should that need arise.
Mr Gething said he expected the
Wales v Scotland Six Nations rugby match in Cardiff to go ahead on Saturday, which he would be attending himself, adding: “The current scientific advice is that there is no justification for us to close schools or close large events.”
The France vs Ireland Six Nations rugby match due to be held in Paris was postponed on the advice of national authorities.
Mr Gething said the Welsh Government would be “led by the science” in how it responds to the development to the virus and that discussions were ongoing on whether Wales could offer different advice than the rest of the UK.
He said: “There’s an active discussion about the trade-off between having a whole UK approach and trying to have a more nuanced approach to different choices.
“If we were to make different choices based on science about where we are in the different periods of the pandemic we’re expecting to face, then we need to be really clear about how effective those different messages would be as opposed to a single UK message that every one of the four governments in the UK have signed up to.”
He added that the six people diagnosed in Wales are either self-isolating at home or in some form of healthcare setting.
Mr Gething said people should “go about their business as normal” and “catch, bin and kill” any coughs or sneezes.
He once again reiterated the need for regular handwashing.
He said many people in Wales may have coronavirus at some point but the majority should expect to have it mildly and recover from it.
The Welsh Government has also announced the country’s 640 GP surgeries will receive packs of face masks, gloves and aprons for their personal protection over the weekend as they treat people with suspected coronavirus.
Personal protection equipment was also authorised to be released from stockpiles for use by frontline
NHS and social services staff.
Mr Gething said: “These packs are part of robust infection control measures that we have in place, and I want to reassure people that we are working closely with NHS Wales and social services across the country to implement our planned response.
“It is important that frontline medical and social care staff have the equipment they need to keep them safe while they help people with suspected coronavirus.
“The face masks, gloves and aprons are part of a stockpile that we have in place as part of our contingency planning should they be needed to support our NHS and social services.”