September 26, 2020 - 965 views
After many weeks of few or no deaths, Wales is beginning to see more reports of fatalities relating to COVID-19. The number of new cases are also beginning to increase rapidly with 370 new cases reported in the past day.
In 24 hours, 3 new deaths occurred whilst 34 new cases were reported in North Wales. Conwy and Flintshire continue to be monitored closely by Public Health Wales as 10 people in each area were tested positive for the virus.
Wrexham recorded 8 cases whilst Anglesey and Gwynedd had one new case each.
In the past 7 days Conwy has recorded 29 cases per 100,000 people of population against the North Wales average of 19.6. Currently it is recording the highest new cases in the whole of the region.
Commenting on outbreaks across Wales, Dr Christopher Williams, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said:
“The local restrictions announced yesterday for Llanelli will come into force from 6pm today. Local restrictions will also come into place in Cardiff and Swansea from 6pm on Sunday.
“These restrictions mean that people living in Llanelli, Cardiff and Swansea will not be allowed to enter or leave the area without a reasonable excuse.
“They will not be able to meet indoors with anyone they do not live with for the time being – extended households (sometimes called a ‘bubble’) are suspended for the time being.
“Gatherings with members of any other household can take place outdoors only.
“Pubs, restaurants and other licensed premises must stop selling alcohol at 10pm, and offer table service only. Off licenses, including supermarkets and other retail outlets, must also stop selling alcohol at 10pm.
“People who can work from home, must do so. Those who cannot reasonably work from home can continue to travel to a place of work, whether that is within our outside the areas affected by local restrictions.
“Further details of these rules can be found on the Welsh Government website.
“As well as observing the current and new restrictions coming into place, I would also urge people to download the new NHS COVID-19 app which launched on Thursday.
“The app forms a central part of the NHS Wales Test Trace Protect programme. We would encourage as many people to download and use the app as possible, to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus. The app also informs users of the current risk level in their postcode district.
“The ‘rule of six’ means that only six people from the same extended household can meet indoors. This applies throughout Wales, although there are additional measures in place in the areas affected by local restrictions.
“In addition, the Welsh Government has announced strengthened regulations and support for employees and employers who are required to self-isolate.
“In the areas where local restrictions have been announced or brought into place (the council areas of Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly County, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport and Rhondda Cynon Taf and the town of Llanelli), then those rules must be followed. Details of these rules can be found on the Welsh Government website.
“We are continuing to see a steady increase in cases in many communities across Wales, and our investigations show that many of these have been transmitted due to a lack of social distancing.
“The council areas of Anglesey, Carmarthenshire, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and the Vale of Glamorgan are all areas of concern to us and we are watching the data from there carefully, but numbers of cases are increasing in all parts of Wales so there is no room for complacency in any area.
“We are also seeing an increase in the number of people who are seriously ill and have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19.
“We are concerned that much of the good work conducted over the past few months is at risk of going to waste. If the situation continues to worsen, we may find ourselves at the same levels of infection that we experienced earlier this year in March and April; and with that comes the potential for more extended restrictions to be imposed nationally.
“Coronavirus has not gone away. It remains the responsibility of everyone to help prevent the spread of this virus to protect older and vulnerable family members and friends. They should do this by self-isolating when asked to do so, staying two metres away from others, and by washing hands regularly."
