Covid: ‘national measures’ considered in Wales

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A second national lockdown could be introduced in Wales amid rising coronavirus cases, the Health Minister suggested.

Vaughan Gething said the next few days would be “very serious” and could determine whether the Government of Wales implements “national measures”.

Seventeen areas of Wales are currently under local lockdown restrictions.

There were more than 100 cases per 100,000 people in Wales in the past week.

The Health Minister has warned that Covid cases in Wales could return to peak levels seen in spring within two weeks.

The county in Wales with the highest case rate was Merthyr Tydfil, with 220.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

However, this is only the 55th highest rate in the UK, with Derry City and the Strabane District Council area of ​​Northern Ireland (871 cases per 100,000) and Nottingham (830) the two worst hit areas.

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales, Gething said: “We are thinking about the current landscape where we have local restrictions in most of Wales and the landscape of a rising tide in general.

“Some areas have developed a little bit of control over the coronavirus, we understand more about our test, tracking protection system, but we have to have an active debate about what the response should be.

“The next few days will be very serious and we may have to make a different decision on what kind of approach we are taking and of course that involves the conversation between local measures or whether we should move to national measures.

“The local restrictions, they have worked to some extent in suppressing the coronavirus, that requires a lot of effort and commitment from a local community and we must think if that is still the right approach or if we should adopt a national approach.”

Gething added that the public should support any additional measures to prevent further spread of the virus.

He said he and the prime minister would attend the UK government’s Cobra meeting on Monday morning, and new local lockdown rules are expected to be announced in England.

Later at a press conference, Gething said there was “growing concern” that current measures “will not be enough to help us through the winter.”

“We could see coronavirus infections reach the same level as the spring peak in the next two weeks,” he said.

The numbers at the hospital are “constantly increasing,” he said. More than 330 people are hospitalized, up from more than 100 last week.

“Very sadly, we know that more people will die from coronavirus this winter,” he said.

A set of “firewall” measures to control Covid-19, such as the one seen in Scotland, is being considered in Wales.

Bangor lock

Meanwhile, discussions will take place later to decide whether to extend the restrictions in Bangor to other parts of Gwynedd.

Bangor was closed on Saturday after a spike in coronavirus cases.

Bangor’s restrictions affect eight neighborhoods in the city: Garth, Hirael, Menai, Deiniol, Knight, Glyder, Hendre and Dewi.

The city had seen a significant cluster of coronavirus cases and the incident rate is roughly 400 cases per 100,000 people.

Farhat Abbas, who has a store on Penrhos Road in Bangor, which straddles the boundary between the closed area and one that is free of restrictions, said customers were confused.

“Many clients are not sure if they should have exited, if they should not have exited and where the closing limit really is.

“It’s usually a busy place. This morning it’s a little quieter than usual.”

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Sian Gwenllian, MS of Arfon, which contains Bangor, called for a “clear plan” for the city: “We need to know from the government: do local restrictions work, is that the way forward or do we need to change direction?”

“If we need to change direction, we have to do it in an open and transparent way that is communicated to the entire population so that people understand why things are changing.

“People come to me, they ask me how the decisions were made, why a part of the city was not included.”

How many cases are there in Wales?

Public Health Wales has reported more than 3,300 cases in the last seven days, at a rate of 106.6 cases per 100,000 people.

Wales’ 22 counties had a case rate of more than 20 per 100,000 inhabitants, which the prime minister previously stated would put a local authority on a watch list.

Five counties – Pembrokeshire, Monmouthshire, Anglesey, Ceredigion and Powys – have case rates below 50 per 100,000, a figure that, if exceeded, Mark Drakeford said would lead to a local shutdown.

Only Pembrokeshire has a case rate of less than 40 per 100,000.

Along with Merthyr Tydfil (55th), Flintshire (76th), Rhondda Cynon Taf (77th), Wrexham (79th), Cardiff (88th), Bridgend (86th) and Swansea (100th) are among the 100 highest case rates in the world. United Kingdom.

Could the armor come back?

Thousands of people with underlying health problems were asked to protect themselves during the first lockdown, but Robert West, emeritus professor of health psychology at University College London, who advises the government of Wales on its response to the pandemic, he said things were likely to be different. for anyone who is asked to protect himself.

Said, “I think I could probably [be done differently this time] because we know more about the transmission of the virus.

“We know that, for example, there are very few transmissions abroad, so I think that it is not that people necessarily have to be locked up in their homes, but that it will depend on the type of geographical circumstances and the population density in the country. area, etc. in.

“But I think we could probably make it a little easier for people than it was last time.”

Gething said: “Part of our challenge is that we know that several people suffered during the shielding: they were alone, they were isolated, there was a real impact on mental health. We have to balance all those things.

Andrew RT Davies, the Conservative Welsh spokesman for health, called for a return to armor, tweeting: “Given the great alarm of ministers, including the Labor Government of Wales, why are we not prioritizing the protection of the most vulnerable in society by restarting the protection process?

“For me, that should be much more urgent than shutting down the economy.”