The control plan which aims to prevent Covid spike this winter
The Welsh Government has outlined a series of measures it will take should the prevalence of Covid-19 increase in communities. Here, health correspondent Mark Smith reports on the new Coronavirus Control Plan for Wales
THE Welsh Government has published a new “Coronavirus Control Plan for Wales” – as the Health Minister warned that “noone wants another lockdown”.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething spoke this week of the importance of continuing to follow social distancing guidelines and hand hygiene rules as he led the Welsh Government’s latest weekly coronavirus briefing.
He said: “Absolutely no-one wants another lockdown. But coronavirus has not gone away. So if we are to continue to enjoy this greater level of freedom, we must prevent the virus from spreading.”
On the importance of the control plan, Mr Gething said: “The plan sets out how all partners – including Public Health Wales, local government, businesses and the people of Wales – must work together to manage the risks of coronavirus.
“The plan focuses on the approach we will take, from prevention through to introducing measures at a local, regional or national level.
“Prevention is better than cure and that is where our collective efforts are focused. Everyone has a role to play in preventing the spread of coronavirus.”
He said this is particularly important as the nation gets ready for autumn and winter.
“The science shows the virus spreads more quickly in the colder, darker months so we need to be prepared,” he said.
Mr Gething added that when new cases emerge, the investment in testing will help identify new cases and clusters so they can be contained quickly.
“At a local level, we have shown that by working with partners we can efficiently and effectively manage small clusters and outbreaks – as we saw in Anglesey and Merthyr Tydfil,” he said.
“This has meant we have not had to introduce wider restrictions in those areas.”
He said the report brings together what has been learned from those incidents and sets out how to plan for any potential future waves.
Mr Gething said it also describes what restrictions may be introduced should the prevalence of the virus increase. Any restrictions will be tailored for each area and only be in place as long as needed.
What the plan says:
The plan has five key levels of intervention, which are: Prevention;
New cases and clusters; Incidents and outbreaks; Local and regional measures; and All-Wales measures.
Prevention
“The most effective way to control the spread of coronavirus is to prevent it from spreading in the first place,” the report states.
“This is the responsibility of all of us, from individuals, to businessowners, to decision-makers and elected representatives.
“Until there is an effective vaccine that is available and rolled out to all parts of the population, we must all continue to play our part to prevent a second wave of infection.”
The report states we can all prevent the spread of the virus by washing our hands and keeping two metres apart, while (as we know) laws in Wales exist to restrict gatherings, order premises to close and enforce the use of face coverings in certain places.
nNew cases and clusters
When local clusters of cases arise, it is the job of Test Trace Protect (TTP) teams across Wales to spring into
naction, with help from Public Health Wales experts.
It’s their job to identify any positive cases and stop the infection from spreading further by telling them, along with their close contacts, to selfisolate.
All cases and clusters are reported to the Health Protection Advisory Group and Welsh minsters.
Clusters can be linked to a particular person, location or time period such as a workplace, event or particular premises. Tailored advice is provided for certain higher-risk settings, the report states.
Under current legislation, public health officers can order people to attend testing programmes and provide contact tracing information, and tell them to self-isolate for up to 14 days. Local authorities can use powers to keep a child away from school if necessary and tell a headteacher to provide names and contact details of pupils at that school.
Incidents and outbreaks
If containment measures are not “wholly effective”, the report states that an outbreak may be declared.
At this point, a multi-agency outbreak control team is established.
There are already powers in place for local authorities (specifically environmental health officers) and other enforcement agencies to take local action, such as requiring a premises to close.
Other laws currently at their disposal include closing public land to stop events from taking place.
All these measures would be taken on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, and in consultation with local authorities and the outbreak control team.
nLocal or regional measures While England and Scotland have already enforced local lockdowns, Wales has avoided them so far.
This could happen if incident and outbreak control measures “are not
nthought to be sufficient”, the report states.
These would be introduced by Welsh ministers following expert advice.
“Local or regional measures to protect public health may be introduced if rates of community transmission in that area are increasing and cannot otherwise be controlled,” the report states.
“This may be because an outbreak associated with a particular setting has led to wider community transmission or there are a series of outbreaks that require a more substantive response. Any decisions will first and foremost prioritise the right to life, identifying those measures that can have the greatest impact whilst minimising other harms.”
Advice for the introduction of local or regional measures would come from the Health Protection Advisory Group (HPAG) which is chaired by Wales’ Chief Medical Officer.
“All decisions will be informed by the specific local context and situation on the ground, including advice from local and national health professionals,” the report adds. Potential interventions include:
n Closing businesses and venues within the area;
n Providing guidance or impose restrictions on movement of people;
n Imposing restrictions on gatherings or events by limiting how many people can meet and in what settings; and
n Restricting transport systems by limiting when people may use transport.
5. All-Wales measures
In the event that local or regional measures were not working, all of Wales could be placed into lockdown once again.
While this has already taken place, the report states that we would be much better prepared a second time round.
“We have learned a great deal from the imposition of national lockdown in Wales in early March, through to the careful and gradual reopening of our society and economy,” it states.
“We are now in a very different situation to that in March, so our response can be more tailored and targeted.
“We are also learning from international experiences from those countries and regions that are seeing new outbreaks and how they are managing them.
“All of this should enable us to minimise the harms associated with a widespread and broad set of measures, such as those that were necessary in March.”
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