Thursday, January 6, 2022

Coronavirus update from Welsh Government

Latest Covid-19 update from the Welsh Government (dated yesterday) is: 

·         Health Minister Eluned Morgan has set out changes to the testing regime – in some cases lateral flow tests will be used instead of PCR tests to maximise PCR testing capacity as demand is very high: https://gov.wales/written-statement-prioritising-pcr-testing

o   Lateral flow testing for people without symptoms: https://gov.wales/lateral-flow-testing-people-without-symptoms 

·         More than £100m of new funding will help make schools and colleges Covid-secure: https://gov.wales/over-100m-new-funding-will-help-make-schools-and-colleges-covid-secure

·         Education Minister Jeremy Miles has published a written statement about the return to school and college: https://gov.wales/written-statement-return-schools-and-colleges

o   School operations guidance: https://gov.wales/school-operations-coronavirus

o   Schools – coronavirus guidance: https://gov.wales/schools-coronavirus-guidance

o   Coronavirus (asymptomatic) testing in schools, further education and childcare settings: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-asymptomatic-testing-school-further-education-and-childcare-settings

·         Changes to the rules on international travel: https://gov.wales/written-statement-international-travel-changes-6

·         The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has today published statistics on provisional weekly deaths, including deaths involving Covid-19, for the week ending 24 December 2021. 

o   There have been 9,169 deaths involving Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.

o   Of these, 33 were registered in the latest week. This was 4% of all deaths, and 18 fewer than the previous week.

o   The numbers reported by ONS are different from those from Public Health Wales because of different reporting methods and timing. The ONS figures are higher because they include some extra cases.

o   https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsregisteredweeklyinenglandandwalesprovisional/latest 

Coronavirus in numbers

·         The latest figures published by Public Health Wales show there were 21,279 newly-reported cases of coronavirus in a 48-hour period, bringing the total to 689,750 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wales since the start of the pandemic.

o   There were 10 deaths reported by Public Health Wales in a 48-hour period. The total number of deaths reported by Public Health Wales is 6,599.

o   These figures are updated daily at: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection/viz/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary   

·         The number of people who have received a Covid vaccine in Wales is published every weekday by Public Health Wales.

o   The latest figures show 2,492,440 people have received their first dose.

o   2,307,957 people have had two doses of the vaccine.

o   To date, 1,667,192 people have had their booster dose of the vaccine.

o   https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/public.health.wales.health.protection/viz/RapidCOVID-19virology-Public/Headlinesummary

o   For more information about getting your Covid-19 vaccine: https://gov.wales/get-your-covid-19-vaccination

o   Can you support the vaccination programme? More information for NHS staff and volunteers at: https://heiw.nhs.wales/jobs/nhs-wales-covid-19-vaccination-team-returning-healthcare-professionals/

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 up to 10 days from when your symptoms started.

·         Guidance about self-isolating: https://gov.wales/self-isolation

o   You can book a test at https://gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-covid-19-test

o   You should continue to isolate while waiting for a test result. 

Where to find the latest information

·         Wales is at alert level two. More information is available at: https://gov.wales/alert-level-2

o   Alert level two: frequently asked questions: https://gov.wales/alert-level-2-frequently-asked-questions

·         Our latest Coronavirus Control Plan, setting out the longer-term plan for Wales is at: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-control-plan-autumn-and-winter-2021-update  

·         Information about coronavirus is available on the Welsh Government’s website at https://gov.wales/coronavirus and https://llyw.cymru/coronafeirws

·         For more information about getting your Covid-19 vaccine: https://gov.wales/get-your-covid-19-vaccination

·         Can you support the vaccination programme? More information for NHS staff and volunteers at: https://heiw.nhs.wales/jobs/nhs-wales-covid-19-vaccination-team-returning-healthcare-professionals/

No comments:

Post a Comment