July 14, 2020 - 926 views
In the past 24 hours there has been a spike in Wales wide cases of COVID-19 with 21 new cases reported along with 2 new deaths.
North Wales accounts for 16 of these new cases in each local authority area. Conwy and Denbighshire has one new case each with Flintshire and Gwynedd reporting 5 and 6 new cases respectively.
Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, explained the possible reason behind the increase. He said:
“Public Health Wales’ user-friendly data dashboard takes information from a range of different sources. The total number of positive cases now includes those reported from non-NHS Wales laboratories, which are subject to ongoing de-duplication, refinement and reconciliation.
"This may result in fluctuation of the total positive cases as this process takes place.
“The outbreak associated with the workforce at the Rowan Foods plant in Wrexham remains active, although the number of reported cases has slowed considerably. The total number of positive cases associated with this outbreak is 305 and more updates will be issued in the coming days.
“The picture emerging from the 2 Sisters factory in Llangefni continues to improve. The total number of positive cases associated with the outbreak is now 221, which is to be expected when any focused testing process is put in place and is not a cause for concern.
“The Food Standards Agency advise that it is very unlikely that you can catch coronavirus from food. Coronavirus is a respiratory illness. It is not known to be transmitted by exposure to food or food packaging.
“Contact tracing continues in Wales as part of the Welsh Government’s Test, Trace, Protect strategy. Anyone who has a positive Coronavirus test will be contacted by a team of contact tracers, and asked for details of everyone they have had close contact with while they have had symptoms.
“Please keep a note of your activities so you can easily remember your whereabouts on a given day, along with who you were in contact with.
“If you are asked to self-isolate, you should also comply with this request to prevent further spread of the virus.
“Tracers are trained staff and personal information that you provide will handled in line with data protection regulations and will not be shared widely.
“We continue to caution and remind the public and business-owners that we all have a vital role in preventing the spread of Coronavirus by always sticking to social distancing guidelines - staying two metres away from others, and washing hands regularly. When travelling you should also avoid car sharing with people outside your household.
"Anyone with suspected symptoms of COVID-19 infection - a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss of smell or taste (anosmia) - must self-isolate and seek an urgent test.
"Confirmed cases must isolate for seven days, with members of their household isolating for 14 days until the risk of passing on further infection has gone. Combined these simple but effective actions will ensure the virus does not spread.
“Information about the symptoms of Coronavirus is available on the Public Health Wales website, or members of the public can use the NHS Wales symptom checker.
“Anyone experiencing Coronavirus symptoms can apply for a home testing kit by visiting www.gov.wales/coronavirus, or by calling the national 119 phone service.
“Anyone with suspected coronavirus should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. They should only contact NHS 111 if they feel they cannot cope with their symptoms at home, their condition gets worse, or their symptoms do not get better after seven days.
“Only call 999 if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, do not call 999 just because you are on hold to 111. We appreciate that 111 lines are busy, but you will get through after a wait.”
