April 22, 2020 - 1520 views
New Coronavirus cases in Wales reached 274 during the past 24 hours according to the latest update from Public Health Wales. Overall there have been 8,124 cases in Wales.
There are 13 new cases in Conwy and 17 in Denbighshire although it is acknowledged that there may be many more undiscovered or diagnosed cases out in the community.
So far Wales has seen 624 deaths from individuals testing positive from the virus with 25 of those deaths recorded in the past day.
Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said:
“Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling-off in the number of new cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures.
"However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules. Public Health Wales continues to fully support the extension of lockdown measures, which is essential to avoid reversing the gains we have made in slowing the spread of this virus, protecting our NHS, and saving lives.”
“Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is still circulating in every part of Wales, and the single most important action we can all take in fighting the virus is to stay at home. We want to thank each and every person across Wales for doing their bit to help slow the spread of the virus.
"While emphasising the importance of staying at home, we also want to reinforce the message from NHS Wales that urgent and emergency care services for physical and mental health are still open and accessible.
“For parents, if your child is unwell and you are concerned you should seek help. If you have urgent dental pain you should still call your dentist. If you have a health complaint that is worrying you and won’t go away you should call your GP practice.
"If you or a family member are seriously ill or injured you should dial 999 or attend your nearest Emergency Department.
“Public Health Wales is working with our partners in Welsh Government, the wider NHS in Wales, the other UK nations and others to monitor and respond to the spread of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales.
“The new Critical Workers Testing Policy will be helpful in providing guidance to partners to make sure that we use the current testing capacity in Wales to the full, and to enable the demand for testing to scale up accordingly as we expand our capacity.
"It is vital to ensure we test the right people, at the right time, in the right place, to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
“We will be increasing our testing capacity in the weeks and months to come and it will be essential for us to exploit all possible technology to create a streamlined and digitally enabled process to support this. The recommendations in the Minister’s review will be helpful in achieving this."
