Wales ‘has no cavalier attitude to virus’
WALES’ Health Minister has admitted he would have made “different choices” in the early days of responding to the coronavirus pandemic, but denied the Welsh Government had been “cavalier” in its approach to tackling the virus.
Vaughan Gething said that, had he been armed with the knowledge he now has, then the Welsh Government would have done things differently.
Mr Gething made the admission while appearing on the BBC Politics Wales show, where he was questioned about the discharging of 1,300 patients from hospitals into care homes during March and April.
The blanket coronavirus testing of patients being discharged from hospital into care homes in Wales did not begin until the end of April - meaning some of the 1,300 could have had Covid-19 and passed it to other residents.
“It should always have been the case that anyone who was symptomatic should have been tested and that was our understanding of the science and the evidence at the time when all of the choices were made,” Mr Gething said.
“We of course developed further understanding and further
knowledge, so if I had the knowledge I have today, I’d have probably made different choices at a number of points in the coronavirus pandemic.
“We certainly haven’t taken a cavalier approach.
“The safety of the people in Wales has always been the driving force in the choices we’ve made, right from the choice to stop large areas of NHS activity in the middle of March, to the way we’ve done the testing strategy, to where we are now.”
Three more people have died in Wales after testing positive for coronavirus, according to figures released by Public Health Wales yesterday.
The total number of people to have died with lab-confirmed coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak now stands at 1,444.
Officials also confirmed 39 new cases of the virus, taking the total in Wales to 14,742.
The daily figures released by Public Health Wales reflect the number of people who have died with labconfirmed coronavirus which have been reported to it. The deaths may not have all occurred in the past 24 hours, as it can take two or three days for reports to reach PHW.
Of the 39 new cases confirmed, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board has recorded the most with 15.
The only Welsh health board with zero new cases was Aneurin Bevan Health Board.
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board remains the area with the highest number of cumulative deaths, with 319 deaths recorded since the pandemic began.
Public Health Wales also reported that 3,073 tests were carried out on Saturday, with more than 110,000 individuals now tested since the pandemic began.
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID19) outbreak response at Public
Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales welcomes Welsh Government’s announcement that they are following updated advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommending people in Wales wear three-layer face coverings in situations where social distancing of two metres is not possible or challenging, such as on public transport.
“The evidence remains clear that maintaining a two-metre distance, good hand hygiene and hygiene when coughing and sneezing is the most effective way to protect yourself and others from contracting Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), but the updated guidance from the WHO says three-layer face coverings, if worn correctly, could help provide some control of the virus in specific circumstances.”
He also reminded people to keep a note of their activities so they could easily remember their whereabouts on a given day, along with who they were in contact with, to aid the test, track and trace measures.
The latest estimates of the R number, which shows the average number of people every person with coronavirus is infecting, show it has fallen in Wales to between 0.5 and 0.8 – with a most likely midpoint of 0.7 as of May 29, which means that the virus is spreading more slowly in Wales than elsewhere in the UK.
The declining number of deaths in Wales comes as the Welsh Government prepares to review the lockdown measures, with expectation there may be some loosening of the regulations. On Friday, First Minister Mark Drakeford said Wales would continue with its cautious approach and would not be pressured into following England’s speedier approach.
In Wales people are restricted to journeys of five miles for leisure and non-essential shops remain closed.
But in England, there is no travel limit and shops are reopening from Monday.
Mr Gething said the restrictions in Wales could ease this week but the objective was to keep Wales safe and people could expect to see a “different kind of normal”.
“We may have some more headroom because of the efforts of the people of Wales in following the lockdown rules and guidance,” he said.
“The Cabinet will discuss that this week. We’ve already signalled that we want to see pupils return to schools in a very different way at the end of this month. “We’ve already signalled that we would like to be in a position to open up more non-essential retail.
“It will be a very different kind of normal.”
But the minister rejected calls for the two-metre social distancing rule to be reduced to one metre. “The two-metre rule is there to keep us safe as there is very clear advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) across the UK to keep the two-metre rule and that’s the position we’ll adopt in Wales,” he added.
The Welsh Government has also updated the official guidance on the use of face masks, including in the health and social care sector and for the vulnerable.
Despite heavy criticism from the hospitality and tourism industries, Mr Drakeford asked for the people of Wales to be patient when pressed on further information about further easing of the lockdown on Friday.
Wales is currently in the red stage of its “traffic-light system”, and the Welsh Government has made it clear that it needs to progress to the amber stage before people can access nonessential retail and services and before people are allowed to travel greater distances for leisure activities.