‘People have forgotten the importance of social distancing’

last night called on people to “take action now” so infection rates can drop in the area.

There have been an increasing number of Covid cases in both local authorities, and latest figures show that hospital admissions in the region are also rising.

The voluntary actions requested from residents, which are recommended with immediate effect, include:

■ Only using public transport for essential purposes, which includes travel to education, work, essential medical appointments, shopping and visiting supermarkets;

■ Working from home for the next few weeks if you are able to do so. Actively seek the support of all employers to ensure that those that can work from home do so;

■ Wearing three-layer face coverings or masks, where it is safe to do so, whilst in work, in supermarkets and other indoor or crowded public spaces (recommended for age 12 and over); and

■ Not visiting care homes, unless it is an end of life visit where full PPE (personal. pro- tective equipment) will be required.

Both councils have made clear that schools will remain open and home to school transport will continue to operate in accordance with the latest Public Health Wales (PHW) guidance.

The action comes as Merthyr

Tydil county borough remains perilously close to following Caerphilly county into a local lockdown, after Merthyr’s coronavirus infection rate per 100,000 people over the last week rose once again to 54.7 per 100,000, despite only three new positive cases recorded in the

lattest 24 hours.

RCT, which had had 41.4 infections per 100,000 people on Wednesday, recorded only nine new cases yesterday and saw its seven-day total for every 100,000 people fall to 37.3.

However, PHW said it was still concerned about both areas.

The neighbouring authority of Caerphilly went into local lockdown on Tuesday evening and this week RCT council leader Andrew Morgan warned the county is at risk of joining Caerphilly in lockdown “if the numbers do continue to grow” in the local area.

The latest developments came as the number of new cases across Wales remained higher than 100 for the day, but that represented a marked drop of 63 from Wednesday’s figures.

Yesterday’s 102 new cases compares to 165 on Wednesday and 150 on Tuesday.

It brings the total number of cases to 18,931 in Wales since the beginning of the pandemic. Across Wales, there have been 19.5 cases for every 100,000 people in the last week, which is just below the rate for foreign countries at which Wales starts to bring in quarantines for visi-tors.

Thankfully there were once again no reported Covid-19 deaths by PHW. The county borough of Caerphilly recorded 34 new positive cases yesterday – by far the most of any local authority.

Cardiff and RCT both had the second highest with nine each and Newport had six.

The area of Wales with the highest rate of coronavirus infections, judging by the sevenday rolling total per 100,000 people, remains Caerphilly.

Its closely-watched weekly total, adjusted for population, has now risen to 91 cases for every 100,000 people.

The local authority now has one of the highest positive case rates per head of population in the UK.

Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “We are concerned at the significant rise in positive coronavirus cases in the Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf areas over the past few days, and our investigations indicate that a lack of social distancing by people of all age groups in a range of different locations has resulted in the spread of the virus to other parts of the population.

“It appears that as lockdown restrictions have eased, people have taken advantage of the greater possibilities for activities, but they seem to have forgotten the importance of social distancing – resulting in possible transmission in the wider community.

“It is clear that the virus spreads more easily in indoor settings, and people should take extra care to socially distance in these cases to keep themselves and their friends and families as safe as possible.”

RCT leader Andrew Morgan said: “We all have a responsibility to break the chain of transmission of the virus.

“By all taking these important ‘voluntary’ actions as residents, it is hoped we can collectively reduce the spread of the virus currently taking place locally and in doing so avoid the need for a local ‘lockdown’, which has been required in a neighbouring local authority this week.

“We will alongside Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, Public Health Wales, the Welsh Government, continue to monitor the number of positive cases and will consider further action if the position does not improve and the number of positive Covid 19 cases continue to increase.

“We currently believe that these important actions by all residents will make a positive difference and will reduce the increases in positive cases currently taking place.

“A lockdown isn’t inevitable if we take these proactive steps now and ensure we all following public health guidance and social distancing. We still have the ability, through our individual actions to prevent formal restrictions becoming necessary.”

Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board and the two local authorities are recommending for residents and family members in households who were previously part of the NHS shielding scheme to ask their employers if it is practical to work from home.

Residents are also urged to assess the risks associated with their day to day life and avoid, where possible, crowded public places, particularly indoor public spaces. This advice does not mean the NHS shielding scheme, at this time, is restarting.

RCT has seen the most cases of coronavirus in Wales’ schools according to figures obtained by the Western Mail.

At least 35 pupils and teachers in Wales have tested positive for Covid19 in the first week and a half since schools returned, leading to entire year groups being sent home to self isolate.

RCT alone has seen 13 cases in schools so far – one pupil and 12 schoolbased staff – as the area has seen its rate of infections rise signficantly leaving it at risk of a local lockdown.

Cllr Morgan has urged parents and children to follow social distancing while waiting outside schools.

That call was echoed by Merthyr Tydfil Council leader Kevin O’Neil.

He said: “We are also seeing a number of parents gathering outside the school gates. Parents must remember that it is for the safety of everyone that they adhere to social distancing guidance when dropping off and picking up their children.

“We understand that these measures are not easy to adhere to, and may make our work and social lives a little more difficult, but they are absolutely essential for keeping our communities safe and for protecting ourselves and others – including the most vulnerable.”

Kelechi Nnoaham, director of public health, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board said: “It is the responsibility of every single individual in our communities to conduct themselves in a way which prevents this virus from spreading further.”

He added: “We are grateful to the vast majority of residents in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taff local authority areas for sticking to social distancing guidelines, and for the part they have played in protecting older and vulnerable people from coronavirus.

“Sadly, there is evidence that some people are ignoring or disregarding these guidelines, which is why transmission has increased, and we are now having to take enhanced public health action to limit the spread.

“Our message for the public is that Coronavirus has not gone away, and it can be a very serious illness – especially for older and vulnerable people.

“We must all play our part to protect our vulnerable or older friends, family members and loved ones.”

CONTACT tracers in Wales reach more people who have tested positive for the virus than those in England, it has been revealed.

The faster a contact tracer is able to contact someone who has tested positive for coronavirus, identify close contacts and contact those concerned, the easier it is to contain the spread.

Though there are differences between how the data is collected in Wales and England due to the different test and trace schemes in place, there is a significant contrast in how many people who have tested positive for the virus in Wales are contacted compared to those in England.

New figures published by the Welsh Government show that between August 30 and September 5, of the 440 positive cases that were eligible for follow-up in Wales, 424 (96%) were reached and asked to provide details of those they have recently been in contact with.

Out of the 482 new cases last week, 42 were not eligible for follow-up by local contact tracing teams.

This is due to them either being recorded in closed settings like hospitals and prisons or due to them not being a resident in Wales.

In comparison, in England the Department of Health and Social Care found that 8,908 people were transferred to the contract tracing system between August 27 and September 2.

Of those transferred, 7,367 (82.7%) were reached and asked to provide their information about their contacts.

In Wales, of the 1,789 close contacts that were identified after speaking to a person who has tested positive and eligible for a follow-up from contact tracers, 1,589 (89%) were successfully contacted and advised accordingly.

In England, 32,359 related contacts were identified as contacts from positive cases for the week August 27 to September 2. Out of that number just 69.2% were reached.

However, where communication details were available, 79.4% were reached and asked to self-isolate.

The data, however, is not completely comparable due to the fact that England and Wales capture figures in a slightly different way.

The Department for Health and Social Care in England split contacts of positive tests into non-complex and complex cases.

Out of the 32,359 cases that were identified as contacts last week, 25,164 were non-complex and 7,195 were complex.

Complex cases are linked to potential outbreaks in specific settings and are handled by PHE local health protection teams.

The department said there has been a steep increase of 130% in the number of non-complex contexts identified in the most recent week.

They claim non-complex cases have a higher proportion of contacts who are unable to be reached, which explains why the figures have changed so drastically in the last week (from 91.1% of contacts reached to 69.2% this week).

For the first time since contact tracing began in Wales, the Welsh Government has published how long it has taken for contact tracers to successfully contact positive cases and any identified close contacts.

Of the 440 positive cases that were eligible for follow-up, 92% were contacted within 24 hours of referral to the contact tracing system and 95% of positive cases that were eligible for follow-up were reached within 48 hours (between August 30 and September 5).

Looking at the same time period, of the 1,789 close contacts that were eligible for follow-up, 78% were reached within 24 hours of being identified by a positive case and 87% of close contacts were reached within 48 hours of being identified by a positive case.

This data is important to track and understand as the aim is for the process to be done as fast as possible to minimise the spread of the virus.

However, things like people not being able to answer their phone may delay the process, according to experts.