DVLA staff to be tested After cluster of Virus cases
MASS testing is being put in place at the DVLA after seven people on the same floor were struck down with Covid-19.
Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris said: “I have discussed plans with Julie Lennard, CEO at DVLA, to test an entire floor of staff using a mobile testing unit following a cluster of cases at the site.”
MASS testing has been put in place at the DVLA in Swansea after seven people on the same floor were struck down with Covid19.
The workers who have the virus at the Government agency have been told to self-isolate at home in the wake of the outbreak.
But the DVLA has underlined it was a precautionary step and that none of the other workers on that floor had experienced symptoms of the virus.
A source said: “It could be a super-spreader. One floor has seven off (work) and is being tested as a precautionary measure.
“It seems to be a floor that the infection keeps happening regularly on, they can’t trace back who has tested positive.
“One explanation is that they could be asymptomatic and they don’t feel any symptoms.”
The source added: “They are going to test everyone on that floor by a mobile team.”
Bosses at the government agency have put in place a series of measures to keep people socially distanced due to the pandemic and have installed screens by their desks.
Staggered starts have also been rolled out and reduced numbers have been allowed to work at the site.
Workers have raised concerns during the Covid-19 crisis with Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris, who has been keeping a close eye on the situation.
Mrs Harris said: “I have discussed plans with Julie Lennard, CEO at DVLA, to test an entire floor of staff using a mobile testing unit following a cluster of cases at the site.
“While I am concerned about the increase in the number of cases, I am confident DVLA and Public Health Wales are working together to identify the source of this infection, and as such staff do not need to self-isolate.”
A DVLA spokeswoman said: “We have seven members of staff who work on the same floor who have tested positive for coronavirus, and are isolating at home.
“As a precautionary measure, Public Health Wales has suggested that staff who are based on the same floor should be tested, and as this is a routine measure that they do not need to self-isolate while waiting for their test results. The safety of our staff is our top priority, and we are working together with Public Health Wales and local environmental health staff to help keep our site Covid-secure.”
THE rules affecting the hospitality industry are tightening in Scotland, and England could soon be following suit.
But in Wales, where cases are also high and rising, and where First Minister Mark Drakeford has tended towards a more cautious approach than Prime Minister Boris Johnson, there is little sign of movement yet affecting pubs, cafes and restaurants and when they can and can’t open.
On September 24 pubs, cafes and restaurants in Wales were ordered by the Welsh Government to close at 10pm and provide table service only, in parallel with similar rules introduced in Scotland and England.
This week Scotland opted to close all pubs and restaurants in the ‘central belt’ of the country for two weeks to tackle a rising number of cases there. Outside the areas worst affected, the industry can only serve food and nonalcoholic drinks indoors until 6pm, although they can continue serving alcohol outdoors up until the 10pm curfew.
And Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to ban overnight stays, and is also said to be considering closing pubs in parts of England worst affected by the second wave of the pandemic.
Whether Wales decides to toughen up its restrictions could decide the future of many businesses as the end of the furlough scheme at the conclusion of October looms, to be replaced by a new ‘ job support scheme’.
Pubs and restaurants in Swansea and Cardiff have been having to cope under local lockdown conditions, introduced on September 27, and the 10pm curfew.
Marcus Luporini, owner of The Kardomah in Swansea, said any more stringent restrictions, such as had been introduced in Scotland, would require Government support.
He said the restaurant had already lost “so much custom” as a result of lockdown but even more so since the local lockdown was imposed.
“The Welsh Government has tended to follow suit and just delay slightly in light of the other restrictions,” he said.
“The problem we have got is that we are told to stay open and keep all of our staff employed but then the general public are told to not go out unless it’s necessary.
“We have lost so much custom. We have a lot of
customers from Neath Port Talbot, the valleys and even Cardiff because people come to Swansea as a destination. The footfall has decreased massively and as a result it’s like a ghost town but we are still told to carry on trading.
“The furlough scheme is going to finish at the end of October and the new scheme, I don’t feel as though it’s going to work, because there’s not enough cash flow in the businesses to pay the staff.
“If we were to lock down again I think the only way we could go forward and keep staff employed is if the government supported us. Otherwise it’s looking bleak. If businesses are expected to keep trading and keep their staff in jobs then something has to be done and people have to be encouraged to come back into the towns.”
Alex O’driscoll, proprietor of The King Arthur Hotel in Gower, said the local lockdown in Swansea had already had a “massive effect” on the business.
If tighter restrictions forced the popular pub to close, Mr O’driscoll said it would be “devastating”.
“Two weeks ago we were fully booked through the week in our hotel but
they all got cancelled,” he said.
“If the pub side of things had to close then I think it would be devastating.
“I don’t think the pubs and restaurants should close because we are sticking by the guidelines. I think people look for somewhere else to go, whether it be house parties, but at least in here we can provide a safe environment.
“We have adapted things right the way through so people can come here safely.
The problem we have got is that we are told to stay open and keep all of our staff employed but then the general public are told to not go out unless it’s necessary - Marcus Luporini, owner of
The Kardomah
It is what it is - we’ve just got to live with it. I don’t like wearing the mask but there we are
- Lynda Wiberg
I’m quite happy with the lockdown measures though and if there are more cases there will have to be more restrictions
- Callum Mason
“I think if it was to happen we would go back to doing takeaways and hopefully we could keep the hotel side of it open.
“It’s all very well asking us to close the pubs but how will we then pay our staff? We will have to diversify again and try to get through it.”
The general consensus among the shoppers in Swansea city centre on Thursday was that they understood why there had to be restrictions but there was frustration with some of the finer details of lockdown and whether the rules were being enforced properly.
Ken Price, from Swansea, said: “I don’t go far when I come to town but it seems some people don’t exactly care too much about their responsibilities.
“I like what they’re doing with the local lockdown and it doesn’t affect me too much as I don’t travel far now I’m retired.
“But it doesn’t really matter if it’s working or not, I just think it’s not being enforced.
“They need to enforce the measures they have already properly before looking at anything else.”
The rate of infection in Swansea is 133.6 per 100,000 people, above the Welsh average of 95.1 per 100,000 and the rate has risen over the last 24 hours.
Alan Stoneman, from Ystradgynlais, was in Swansea to care for his 95-year-old mother who lives in Morriston.
“We live 150 yards from the border in Powys, to the point we can go to our local Asda but not the Tesco where they ask people where they’re from.
“I think it should be based on radius, the fivemile rule made sense to me.
“My mother is 95 years old and we have to bring her shopping as she’s only left the house five times since February.
“She’s only 10 miles away from us but she’s in the local lockdown area so technically we shouldn’t come to see her, but we can go up to Welshpool or Hay-on-wye,” he said.
Leaving or entering an area in local lockdown to provide care for a vulnerable person is considered a “reasonable excuse” by the Welsh Government.
Swansea has welcomed back its student population recently but there have been a number of cases of coronavirus at Swansea University.
Callum Mason, originally from North Wales, is in his third week in Swansea as a motorsport engineering student at University of Wales Trinity Saint David, which has a campus in the city.
“It’s been quite annoying going straight into lockdown. I don’t go out of my room much because I have asthma so I need to be careful and I understand it’s to keep other people safe too.
“I was expecting a lot more from my freshers but it’s a weird time.
“The university has told us what to do if anyone does get a case and that we have to self-isolate if we have symptoms.
“I’m quite happy with the lockdown measures though and if there are more cases there will have to be more restrictions.”
The attitude of many was summed up by Lynda Wiberg from Fforestfach. “It is what it is – we’ve just got to live with it. I don’t like wearing the mask but there we are,” she said.
Lynda said she wasn’t able to see her granddaughter at the moment because she worked in the NHS and couldn’t risk passing the virus on.