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People previously told to protect in Wales are now told not to go to school or work outside the home.
The message comes from Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething, who cites fears about rising rates of coronavirus in Wales and the spread of the highly infectious strain in Wales.
According to the advice, the concern is especially for “those whose work requires them to be in regular or sustained contact with other people, or where people share a poorly ventilated workspace for long periods.”
After months of being told to isolate themselves in the first wave, more recently people who were protecting themselves had been told to simply use their own judgment due to concerns of the harms that come from long-term isolation. But this has now changed. You can read the full tips here.
The CMO will send letters to everyone they protect, but according to the statement, there are concerns that they will be delayed due to Christmas.
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In a statement, Mr. Gething said: “The advice for those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, previously ‘protecting’, has changed as of today to advise those within this group who should no longer attend work or school out of home.
“This is particularly the case for those whose work requires them to be in regular or sustained contact with other people, or when people share a poorly ventilated workspace for extended periods.
Letters will be issued from the Wales Medical Director confirming this advice, but it will take some time to reach people due to the holiday period. These letters can be used as evidence to claim legal sick pay.
This decision has been made based on a number of factors, but more recently it has been influenced by the recent significant growth in infection rates in Wales, which are attributed to a new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus.
The statement continued: “We have also taken into account the pressures we see on our health service with increasing hospitalizations. This advice will be reviewed every three weeks in line with the Welsh Government reviews of alert levels across Wales. Individuals in this group are already subject to current regulations at level 4 and, therefore, must stay home as long as possible. “
Gething wanted to emphasize that people who protect themselves can still exercise and attend medical appointments.
He added: “I would like to emphasize that the group can still go out to exercise and also attend medical appointments. We must remain aware of the harms associated with isolation for long periods and therefore those in this group may remain part of a support “. bubble as long as they take care of themselves.
“We have been clear that the safest option for people within this group is not to be part of a Christmas bubble. However, if they decide to do so, they should follow the advice provided on our website which includes keeping contacts to an absolute minimum, meet for short periods in well-ventilated areas, maintaining strict hand and surface hygiene and staying two meters from others. “
In an interview with WalesOnline yesterday, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford told people at risk to be more careful than ever.
“Exercise caution,” he advised.
“Each of us should be more cautious. The medical director will write to everyone on the protection list after Christmas with updated advice. Just today we talk about protecting people who are working and what the advice should be for them. The advice has to be to take an even more precautionary approach than before. The virus is a bigger threat today than it was last week. “
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