Council’s leader reveals how authority is readying
A COUNCIL leader has revealed how the authority is preparing itself for a second wave of Covid-19
Councillor Rob Jones, leader of Neath Port Talbot council, said: “With the winter pressures coming on we do anticipate that there could potentially be a second spike.”
Cllr Jones said seasonal illnesses like flu and pneumonia, which harm the respiratory system, can be worrying when accompanied by coronavirus.
“Covid attacks the respiratory system, it can make people more susceptible and vulnerable to it.
“If we get into a local lockdown scenario, whether that’s an area within the county borough or the county borough itself, then we would literally have to revert to going back to March 23 when there was a complete lockdown of an area.”
Cllr Jones said that in the event of a localised outbreak, a mobile testing unit would be set up to avoid sending people to the local field hospital “in droves”.
If Neath Port Talbot went into a local lockdown, public facilities would be shut and schools would return to distance learning, he said.
“It is easy to close stuff. I’d put a chain around my parks and I’d put a padlock on them, I’d just lock the toilet doors and close the indoor markets.”
Certain decisions like travel restrictions would be up to the Welsh Government.
Cllr Jones said Neath Port Talbot has been communicating with the Welsh Government throughout the pandemic and there is “a very good, strong working relationship” between them.
“We are very fortunate in Wales that every week we meet with ministers,” he said.
“England haven’t got that. They have not got constant access to their ministers. They haven’t got a dialogue taking place.
“We are normally given quite a bit of notice of stuff that the Welsh Government is going to release within the lockdown.”
To keep on top of coronavirus cases in the borough, Cllr Jones said the Test Trace Protect programme could be in place for “at least a year, possibly two”.
This would require long-term staff arrangements, however, and applications for jobs within the programme have been oversubscribed.
In line with Welsh Government