Welsh Government's coronavirus update

Latest coronavirus update from the Welsh Government (dated yesterday) is:

• The rates holiday for the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors in Wales will be extended for a further 12 months, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans has announced.
• The £380m package provides retail, leisure and hospitality businesses with rateable values up to £500k, and charities in Wales with a straightforward year-long business rates holiday – going beyond what has been announced in England – providing a much-needed boost for small and medium sized businesses struggling to cope with the impacts of the pandemic.
• This relief package, in combination with our existing Small Business Rates Relief scheme will ensure that more than 70,000 businesses will continue to pay no rates at all in 2021-22.
• https://gov.wales/business-rates-holiday-extended-12-months 

• Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government Hannah Blythyn has announced a £15.2m ‘placemaking’ funding package to help Wales’s town centres build back better.
• It’s all part of a wider £110m investment through Transforming Towns, the Welsh Government’s town centre regeneration programme, which funds projects for the benefit of local communities in town and city centres in Wales.
• https://gov.wales/town-centres-wales-benefit-placemaking-fund

• Deputy Minister for Health and Social Services Julie Morgan has today published a written statement about care home visiting: https://gov.wales/written-statement-update-care-home-visiting-1
• How do lateral flow tests work for people without symptoms? https://gov.wales/lateral-flow-testing-people-without-symptoms
• Community testing in Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf: https://gov.wales/symptom-free-covid-19-community-testing 

Coronavirus in numbers

• The latest figures published by Public Health Wales today show there have been 267 newly reported cases of coronavirus, bringing the total to 204,463 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wales since the start of the pandemic.
• Sadly, there were 13 further death reported by Public Health Wales today. The total number of deaths reported by Public Health Wales is 5,366.
• These figures are updated daily at: https://public.tableau.com/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection#!/vizhome/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary

• The number of people who have received a Covid vaccine in Wales is being published every weekday by Public Health Wales.
• The latest figures show 951,540 people have received their first dose.
• And 139,445 people have received two doses of the vaccine.
• https://public.tableau.com/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection#!/vizhome/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary
• If you think you’ve been missed off the vaccine appointment list: https://gov.wales/get-your-covid-19-vaccination-if-you-think-you-have-been-missed

What to do if you have symptoms of coronavirus

• The symptoms of coronavirus are a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change in smell or taste.
• If you have symptoms of coronavirus, however mild, you must self-isolate at home for 10 days from when your symptoms started.
• Guidance about self-isolating: https://gov.wales/self-isolation-stay-home-guidance-households-possible-coronavirus
• Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
• You should arrange to have a test to see if you have coronavirus once you are self-isolating. You can book a test at https://gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-covid-19-test
• You should continue to isolate while waiting for a test result.
• Got a question about what to do if you’ve got coronavirus? Visit https://gov.wales/self-isolation-stay-home-guidance-households-possible-coronavirus 

Where to find the latest information

• Information about the new national measures in place in Wales is available at: https://gov.wales/alert-level-4 and the roadmap in and out of alert levels is at: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-control-plan-alert-levels-wales

• Information about coronavirus is available on the Welsh Government’s website at https://gov.wales/coronavirus and https://llyw.cymru/coronafeirws
• Questions about Covid-19 vaccines? Visit: https://phw.nhs.wales/topics/immunisation-and-vaccines/covid-19-vaccination-information/ and https://gov.wales/vaccine-coronavirus
• Want to join Wales’ vaccination team? https://gov.wales/join-covid-19-vaccination-team
• If you think you’ve been missed off the vaccine appointment list: https://gov.wales/get-your-covid-19-vaccination-if-you-think-you-have-been-missed
• Information about support for businesses is available at the Business Wales website https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice/
• The Welsh Government holds a regular media briefing about coronavirus. These are on-the-record, on-camera and supported by a BSL interpreter. These are held at 12.15pm, broadcast on BBC One Wales and live-streamed on our @WelshGovernment Twitter channel.