Covid-19 support protects incomes of 400,000 workers
MORE than 315,000 workers in Wales – a quarter of the nation’s workforce – have been placed on furlough since the start of the coronavirus crisis, with 100,000 more claiming self-employment support.
Statistics released yesterday showing the full extent of employers’ dependence on the £20bn UK Government scheme, indicate it has protected the incomes of 418,000 people in Wales. Just over a quarter of the 1.2 million-strong Welsh workforce is furloughed.
They are among 8.9 million people who have been paid to stay at home across the UK at a total cost to the taxpayer of £19.6bn.
The data comes as it emerged six more people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, and an additional 63 cases of the virus have been confirmed.
Wales NHS chief executive Dr Andrew Goodall told the Welsh Government’s daily press briefing it was still “very striking” that there still remains the equivalent of three large hospitals full of Covid-related patients.
SIX more people have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, according to the latest figures.
The total number of deaths in people with lab-confirmed coronavirus since the outbreak began has hit 1,425, Public Health Wales said yesterday.
An additional 63 cases of the virus have also been confirmed, a jump from 38 new cases reported on Wednesday.
Since the start of the outbreak, the total number of cases in Wales has reached 14,581.
Public Health Wales’ daily figures on coronavirus-related deaths reflect the number of people who have died with lab-confirmed coronavirus which have been reported to them.
As it can take two or three days for reports to reach them, the deaths have not all happened in the last 24 hours.
With 15 new cases of the virus, Cardiff has reported the most new cases of any other local authority in Wales and has become the only local authority to reach into the double digits.
Five local authorities – Monmouthshire,
Torfaen, Merthyr Tydfil, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire – have recorded no new cases.
The new figures come as the chief executive of NHS Wales, Dr Andrew Goodall, revealed the coronavirus test positivity rate has declined to under 2% across the country.
He said there are currently 885 Covid-19 related patients in hospital beds, which is lower than last week.
However, this still remains the equivalent of three large hospitals full of patients.
At present, there are 32 people being treated in critical care, the lowest number since March 25, he said. Around 60% of critical care beds are empty and available.
Additionally, around 7,000 people in Wales have been discharged after
having Covid-19 related admissions, he said.
Asked why Wales is not lifting measures outside of the threeweek review process, Dr Goodall said: “We have a clear process in place.”
He said this is a political process that needs to be led by the First Minister.
He said that from a perspective of the NHS, there is a need to keep a cautious approach going forward, not least to make sure NHS services can continue to be provided.
He said there is also the need to balance where harm may be created, by the virus itself and also by broader factors.
Asked about how lockdown decisions are being made, Dr Goodall said: “We put a lot of focus on the R number.”
But he stressed the R factor – the rate at which the virus reproduces, which is currently said to be about 0.8 in Wales – isn’t the only factor.
“There are some areas that I keep an eye on myself,” he said.
He said though we’re seeing fewer patients in hospital beds, it’s still “very striking” that we’ve got three hospitals-full of patients in Wales.
He said he also thinks the lowering of community transmission rates is important, adding that it’s a good sign we’ve seen critical care pressures reduced by around 80% since the peak.
He said it’s a “balancing act”, however.
Asked about preparations for a potential second wave of the virus, Dr Goodall said: “I continue to indicate that I’m concerned about seeing a second peak emerge.”
He said Wales is preparing for this by retaining contingency plans.
We’ve also learned a lot more about the virus, he said.
But he added that he wants to make sure the health and care system in Wales is still able to respond to whatever happens.
Dr Goodall said the NHS is now having to work as a health care system with Covid-19 being the back drop.
He said it may need to alter its practices, but the critical thing is to make sure the environments the NHS delivers health care in are safe for patients and staff.
He said surgeons needing to work in full PPE may reduce the level of patient activity possible, for example.
Asked about whether there will be a significant backlog of patients to work through as the NHS restarts, Dr Goodall said: “The progress that we’ve made over years will have been disrupted very significantly.”
That will be a pressure that grows within the system, he said.
He said people clearly have not had the same access to the NHS over recent weeks as they once did, and this would “take some time” to work through.
Yesterday the Western Mail reported on how dentists say routine dental work, such as getting a filling, won’t be available until 2021 as they struggle with the current coronavirus guidelines and a growing backlog of cases. Some say they are being forced to pull out perfectly “saveable” teeth and arrange treatment in England at the weekends because of the current rules in Wales.
Dr Goodall said that throughout the pandemic, dentists have been open and available to see patients for urgent care. There have also been urgent centres open for more complex treatment. He said 11,500 people have been seen in practices and a number of consultations have also taken place remotely. He said pain relief and antibiotics continued to be prescribed when needed.
Dr Goodall said dentists were asked to stop routine activity because of the high risk, and now the restoration of services needs to be gradual. He said this may mean making changes to ensure a safe environment for activity. This will take place in three phases, he said, with the first beginning on July 1. At this stage, dentists will be able to offer more treatments.
Groups of people who have experienced problems during lockdown will get seen first, and then appointments will progress based on urgency, he said.
Urgent centres provided treatment to over 4,700 people, he said.
Meanwhile, Welsh Conservative Shadow Covid Recovery Minister Darren Millar MS has urged the Labour-led government to ease travel restrictions and scrap its “arbitrary and cruel five-mile rule”.
He made his call after the petition, which can be found on the Welsh Parliament website, garnered more than 10,000 signatures.
HEALTH chiefs have confirmed there were fatalities among patients being treated for Covid-19 at the Principality Stadium.
The Dragon’s Heart Hospital, which was built inside the Wales rugby team’s iconic home ground, received a total of 46 patients.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board confirmed there had been a “few deaths” at the emergency field hospital but declined to give the actual figure.
When the facility was first set up it was designed to be a “step-up and step-down” hospital for patients coming to the end of their Covid-19 treatment, requiring rehabilitation and support, and those needing end of life palliative care.
The Western Mail revealed on Monday that the temporary 1,500bed field facility had been downgraded to standby status.
Cardiff and Vale UHB chief executive Len Richards has now confirmed it will remain available in case another wave of coronavirus sweeps through Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan and can be recommissioned within a week.
He said: “As lockdown eases, we have to be ready to respond and to step up our services as and when required.
“The Dragon’s Heart Hospital is a very important part of our planning to respond to Covid-19.
“It will remain on standby if the R [reproduction] rate [of coronavirus] stays less than one because, if that happens, we think we will be able to cope with our normal bed capacity within our normal facilities.
“But, if we start to get into an escalating position where the virus is spreading we will make a judgement around at what point in time we will need to reopen the Dragon’s Heart Hospital.”
And he stressed: “We are not out of the woods yet. The pandemic is still there, the disease is still within our community.
“It’s under control at the moment but we must not give it the opportunity to start to infect again.
“It’s not about testing, it’s about washing your hands, it’s about social distancing, it’s about making sure you comply with the rules that are there so we can actually ease lockdown but at a pace we can manage and therefore keep the virus under control.”
It means there are no immediate plans for the stadium to be turned back into a venue that can host rugby matches.
The Dragon’s Heart Hospital was emptied of patients last Thursday with staff standing down the following day and being redeployed elsewhere.
The first patient had arrived at the stadium on April 29. At its peak, the maximum number being treated was 34.
It was created as part of an emergency plan to help ease pressure on the NHS amid fears it may not have enough beds to deal with the number of people who potentially could have needed hospitalising with coronavirus.
The Principality Stadium contract initially ran until July 10, but the deal for the health board to continue renting it from the Welsh Rugby Union was recently extended until at least September with no definite end date.
Medics had originally been told they could be required to work at the Dragon’s Heart, which opened on April 20, for up to 12 months, jeopardising Wales facing Ireland and England at the Principality Stadium in next year’s Six Nations.
The WRU has opened talks with officials at Cardiff City Stadium, Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium and Parc y Scarlets about hosting Wales’ big autumn internationals if the Principality Stadium remains offlimits.
Llanelli’s Parc y Scarlets has itself been turned into a field hospital over the past few months but that is expected to be decommissioned.
Wales are due to face New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Argentina and have to reschedule the postponed Six Nations clash with Scotland.
“If there is still a demand for the hospital later in the year, there is not the likelihood of rugby taking place there,” said WRU chairman Gareth Davies.
And he added: “By working with the health board in having this very important standby facility, we would like to think by the end of July we would be in a clearer position as to how the virus is spreading or how it has been eradicated to a point.”
But, if the stadium isn’t required as a hospital, the union isn’t ruling out the possibility of playing international matches in front of spectators at the ground this autumn.
Around 35,000 spectators could be accommodated inside the stadium if sporting events are permitted by November and social distancing regulations are relaxed from two metres to one.