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Wales faces a new set of national lockdown rules, which would take effect after a “firewall” lockdown and last until around Christmas.
Prime Minister Mark Drakeford announced at a Welsh Government briefing on Friday afternoon that action may be necessary, as Wales faces “a very serious situation” and a “real risk that the NHS could be overwhelmed. “
Although it has not finally been decided, Wales is expected to experience a ‘firewall’ type lockdown within a few days, which would once again likely confine people to their homes and close businesses.
Drakeford said: “This would be a short and sharp blow to the virus, which could turn back the clock, slow its spread and buy us more time and vital capacity on the NHS.”
“A ‘firewall’ would also mean a short, sharp shock to all of our lives. We would all have to stay home to save lives once more. But this time it would be weeks, not months.
“We are considering a two to three week ‘firewall’. The shorter the period, the more accurate the measurements will have to be.”
However, Drakeford said at the time that there would be a “new set of national rules for all of Wales then the firewall period, “saying those new rules and the firewall” would have slowed down the virus enough to lead us to Christmas. ”
Coronavirus cases are increasing rapidly in Wales. Drakeford said there was hardly any coronavirus in Wales at the end of August, “just a few cases in Wrexham and South Wales.”
But now, once again, there are cases in all parts of our country. The incidence rate in Wales is now over 100 cases per 100,000 people. The R number for Wales is 1.4.
This means that about 2,500 people are infected every day. And the increase in that number is faster every week.
“All the indicators that we look closely at show that we have reached a critical point,” he said, adding: “We are already seeing the increase in cases in the community leading to an increase in people admitted to the hospital. ”
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Last week in Wales, there were 500 people in the hospital; at the beginning of this week there were 700. Yesterday there were 825.
“Our intensive care units are full,” Drakeford said.
“This week, there has been a marked increase in the number of deaths reported by Public Health Wales. Once again, our hospital beds are filling with people with coronavirus symptoms.
“And once again, we are asking the NHS staff, who have done so much already, to do more. Although we have all been working together to slow the spread of the virus, it is now moving faster than the measures we have put in place.” instead at the local and national level.
“I have to tell you that we are facing a very serious situation in Wales. Unless we can get the coronavirus back under control, there is a real risk that the NHS will be overwhelmed. And if that happens, an even greater number of people will die as a consequence. ”
“We are looking very carefully at the introduction of a limited time ‘firewall’, also known as a circuit breaker of the type recommended by SAGE, the UK scientific advisory group, and our own advisers here in Wales.
“A successful firewall would reset the virus to a lower level. Coupled with a new set of national rules for all of Wales after the firewall period, we would have slowed the virus down long enough to make it to Christmas.
“These are incredibly difficult decisions and we have not yet reached a final conclusion about whether we will have a ‘firewall’. The ministers will meet over the weekend to discuss this further and we will report the outcome of those discussions to them on Monday. ”
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