Turnaround of the county dubbed UK ‘Covid capital’
AT the very start of the second peak in November 2020, Merthyr Tydfil held the unwanted title of ‘Covid capital of the UK.’
The local authority recorded 741 cases per 100,000 people in the week up to November 1, moving above Oldham (738) and Blackburn in Lancashire (689) which were demoted to second and third place respectively.
But worse was to come. At its peak a week before Christmas, Merthyr Tydfil recorded a whopping 1,349 cases per 100,000, which led to record numbers of people taking up hospital beds with the virus.
In an interview on December 30, 2020, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board’s medical director, Dr Nick Lyons, said intensive care capacity across the region’s three hospitals was full, leading to some patients being transferred to other units across south Wales.
Compounding the problem was severe staff shortages, with as many as 12% of all Cwm Taf employees absent either due to self-isolation, contracting the virus themselves or having other illnesses.
Even the Ysbyty’r Seren field hospital, in Bridgend, was “very close” to being unable to take on new patients due to staffing problems.
“The goodwill and the amazing commitment of our staff giving up their holidays, their leave, and coming back for extra shifts has enabled us to continue to deliver care as we would want to,” said Dr Lyons at the time.
“I’m constantly inspired, awed, and humbled by our staff. Touring the sites over the Christmas holiday I’ve seen tears, I’ve seen people overwhelmed by the size of the task, but above all I’ve seen the commitment to their patients and to each other. They have gone beyond what’s reasonable to ask of them.”
As the weeks progressed Merthyr Tydfil began to experience a significant drop-off in infection rates thanks to a new lockdown and the beginning of the vaccine rollout.
However, a cluster of cases found in the Swansea Road area in March caused a secondary flare-up, with Public Health Wales officials blaming it primarily on young people “losing their discipline” when it came to social distancing and lack of mask-wearing.
Fast forward a few weeks and the county is now recording only 3.3 cases per 100,000 population. That’s the lowest rate in Wales ahead of areas like Ceredigion (5.5), Pembrokeshire (4) and Conwy (3.4) which have avoided the worst of the crisis.
Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council’s deputy chief executive,
Alyn Owen, said: “It’s great news that so much progress has been made since late 2020, when we had the highest figures in the UK. As recently as early March the rate per 100,000 was 169.
“We are very grateful to all our residents who are continuing to follow the restrictions after a very long and frustrating year of limited freedom, and to those who are having tests and vaccinations.
“To that end, we couldn’t have got to this stage without the support of all the agencies involved in administering the testing and vaccinations, and helping to bring the figures down.
“We are not out of the woods yet and we know from experience how quickly things can change so we urge people to keep sticking to the rules and get tested at our mobile centres.”
Things have improved so much in Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB over the past few weeks that the health board downgraded its visiting restrictions from “red” to “amber” from Sunday, April 24.
This signifies that none of the health board’s hospitals, which are in RCT, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil, are in “an outbreak situation”.
Angela Jones, deputy director of Public Health at Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, said: “The news that Merthyr Tydfil now has the lowest infection rate in Wales is a real testament to the hard work of our community.
“I’d like to thank everyone in Merthyr Tydfil for following the rules, getting tested and stopping the spread of the virus over the last month. Lowering the infection rate this quickly is a massive achievement and each and every one of your efforts has made a real impact.
“The important thing now is to keep up the good work. As restrictions ease, we have to make sure we keep social distancing, washing our hands and wearing masks. We’ve made too much progress to throw it away now.”
On Monday Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB extended its Covid-19 vaccination reserve list to include people aged 25 and over.