Drop in cases here but danger remains

IN Wales it appears we are continuing to contain the spread of coronavirus in our communities.

On both Thursday and yesterday there were no reported Covid-19 deaths by Public Health Wales, and across August the daily death rate has not risen above seven.

Positive cases are also on the decline, with as few as eight reported in total by the NHS Trust on Wednesday.

Where outbreaks have arisen in areas such as Wrexham, there appears to have been quick and decisive action to “stamp” it out.

Mobile testing centres were set up and used by hundreds of people in the region concerned that they may have contracted the virus.

But less than a dozen locals were actually confirmed with Covid-19, with contact tracers on hand to track down a relatively small proportion of their “close contacts” at heightened risk of infection.

While there remain Covidpositive patients in our hospitals, the figures remain far lower than the peak in April and May.

This encouraging news has given the Welsh Government “head room” to relax lockdown restrictions further, with plans now in place to allow four households to join together to form a single “bubble” from August 22.

But it is understandable if members of the Welsh public feel a little bit confused – or even anxious – about what is happening elsewhere in Europe.

Earlier this week both Germany and France recorded their biggest daily increases in coronavirus cases in more than three months, while Spain is facing the worst infection rate in western Europe.

As a result, the UK Government has announced that from today anyone arriving here from France and the Netherlands, among others, will need to quarantine for a fortnight.

It’s led to thousands of holidaymakers trying desperately to return to British shores before the new measures kick in.

It remains to be seen whether a second peak of coronavirus will reach us here in Wales. If it does it could have devastating consequences not just for people’s health, but for the economy too.

All we can do is adhere to social distancing guidelines, keep up our hand hygiene and be as compliant as possible should any local spikes in cases appear.

Effective contact tracing and quick turnarounds of tests results will also prove vital as we head into an unnerving period for the country.