Call for new restrictions as coronavirus continues to spread in Wales
THIRTY-FOUR more people have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales, taking the country’s number of confirmed cases to 94.
Public Health Wales said it was working with partners in the Welsh Government and the wider NHS in Wales now that the country had entered the “delay” phase.
The new cases, by local authority area, are: two in Blaenau Gwent, four in Caerphilly, three in Carmarthenshire, one in Ceredigion, four in Swansea, three in Cardiff, one in Monmouthshire, three in Newport, two in Rhondda Cynon Taf, two in Torfaen and one in the Vale of Glamorgan.
The residential areas of eight of the new confirmed cases were still being confirmed yesterday.
Of the identified cases, 36 are in the Swansea Bay area – 18 in Swansea, the highest number in Wales; 11 in Neath Port Talbot and seven in Carmarthenshire.
First Minister Mark Drakeford issued a video message describing how the Welsh Government had been “working hard to prepare for what is to come”.
“We are working around the clock with experts here in Wales and around the United Kingdom to do everything we possibly can to protect you and your families,” he said.
“Every decision we make is based on the best expert public health advice.
“It’s really important in facing the coronavirus that we take the right decisions at the right time.”
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Covid-19 outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “We can confirm that 34 new cases have tested positive for novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 94.
“Public Health Wales is working within the phased approach to tackling the novel coronavirus outlined in the UK Coronavirus Action Plan – to contain, delay, research and mitigate.
“We are working with our partners in the Welsh Government, the wider NHS in Wales, and others now that we have entered the ‘delay’ phase.
“This is now not just an attempt to contain the disease, as far as possible, but to delay its spread.”
Dr Shankar said the advice for the public had changed, with people no longer needing to contact NHS 111 if they believe they may have contracted Covid-19.
Instead, anyone with a high temperature or a new continuous cough should stay at home for seven days and should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
They should only contact NHS 111 if they feel unable to cope with their symptoms at home, their condition worsens or their symptoms do not improve after seven days.
“The move into the ‘delay’ phase, will include working closely with health boards, NHS 111 and the Welsh Government towards transitioning away from community testing and contact tracing,” Dr Shankar said.
“Testing will now focus on cases admitted to hospital, in line with national guidance, and based on symptoms and severity.
“The move away from community testing gives us greater capacity to test in hospital settings, where the most vulnerable patients will be cared for.
“While there is no longer a need to identify every case through community testing, we will still need to and will be able to report on novel coronavirus level in Wales.
“In a similar way to our seasonal flu reporting, we will be undertaking routine novel coronavirus (Covid-19) surveillance which will help us understand the picture in Wales. We will therefore continue in the short term to report numbers of confirmed cases, which will give us some indication of the picture in Wales.”
The announcement of the new cases came as Adam Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru, wrote to Mr Drakeford about the outbreak.
He called for Mr Drakeford to use powers available under the Public Health (Control of Diseases) Act