Friday statement from Public Health Wales

Public Health Wales statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This statement will be updated daily at 2pm

Updated: 2:00pm Friday 3 April

Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said:

“345 new cases have tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,466, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher. 

“24 further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the number of deaths in Wales to 141.

“We offer our condolences to families and friends affected, and we ask those reporting on the situation to respect patient confidentiality.

“Public Health Wales has conducted more than 10,000 tests for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) since the start of this outbreak, including testing more than 1,500 healthcare workers. 

“On Thursday 2 April, updated guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) for health and social care workers which applies across the UK, was published. 

“The revised guidance provides clarity on the type of PPE to be used in specific care settings such as in hospitals, primary care and the community.  It also clarifies how PPE should be used by various health and social care professional groups in order to provide the necessary protection to frontline staff.

 “We are supporting Welsh Government and our NHS partners in the interpretation of the revised guidance.

“Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is now circulating in every part of Wales.  The single most important action we can all take in fighting Coronavirus is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS, and save lives.

“We know that staying at home can be hard, and we want to thank each and every person across Wales for doing their bit to help slow the spread of the virus.”

“Members of the public must adhere to social distancing rules about staying at home, and away from others, introduced by the UK and Welsh Government.  These rules are available on the Public Health Wales website.

“People no longer need to contact NHS 111 if they think they may have contracted Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  Information about the symptoms to look out for is available on the Public Health Wales website, or members of the public can use the NHS Wales symptom checker.

“Anyone with a suspected coronavirus illness should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.  They should only contact NHS 111 if they feel they cannot cope with their symptoms at home, their condition gets worse, or their symptoms do not get better after seven days.

“Only call 999 if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, do not call 999 just because you are on hold to 111.  We appreciate that 111 lines are busy, but you will get through after a wait.

“The public play a very important role in slowing the spread of infection. By strictly following the latest measures, you will protect yourself, protect the most vulnerable and help to reduce the pressure on NHS Wales and minimise the impact of the virus.”

Numbers of confirmed cases by local health board

Health Board	New cases	Cumulative cases
Aneurin Bevan	102	869
Betsi Cadwaladr	16	133
Cardiff and Vale	86	613
Cwm Taf	87	329
Hywel Dda	10	144
Powys	7	41
Swansea Bay	26	273
Resident outside Wales	4	21
To be confirmed	7	43
Wales Total	341	2445
Total	345	2466

Business rate relief form available online

More than a thousand businesses have applied for business rate relief administered by Denbighshire County Council.

The Welsh Government has announced a range of support for businesses which Denbighshire and other local authorities across Wales are administering.

So far 1,115 businesses have applied for business rate relief support in Denbighshire and an online application form is available at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/business-rates

Cllr Hugh Evans OBE, leader of Denbighshire County Council and Lead Member for the Economy, said: “There is enormous uncertainty for businesses at this time and I would encourage traders in Denbighshire to look at our website to see what support is available. Small businesses are vital to the economy in Denbighshire, supporting our communities and providing jobs for our residents.

“The first business rate relief grants will be paid to businesses from next week and the Council is doing all it can to ensure these grants are being processed as quickly as possible.

“Our Economic and Business Development Team is continuing to support local businesses by signposting and finding information, sharing the latest information on social media and via our mailing list. We would encourage businesses to contact the team to sign up and get information sent to them directly.”

* For information on support and business rate relief visit www.denbighshire.gov.uk/business-rates and contact the Council’s Economic and Business Development Team on econ.dev@denbighshire.gov.uk or 01824 706896.

Ysgol Dinas Bran staff make visors for frontline NHS teams

* Staff at Llangollen Health Centre wearing the visors made by Ysgol Dinas Bran.

Members of a school design and technology department have used their skills from the classroom to make visors for frontline NHS staff to protect themselves against coronavirus.

Gethin Williams, head of technology at Ysgol Dinas Bran in Llangollen, and his colleague Michael Roberts have so far produced almost 80 of these plastic face-guards which prevent wearers from breathing in the virus as they are dealing with patients.    

So far the visors have been sent out to the local health centre and to other health facilities across the region.

They are now trying to get hold of other materials to manufacture further batches of the vital pieces of equipment.

Gethin said: “As we’re aware from the media, there’s a shortage of PPE – protective personal equipment - for the NHS.

“Myself and our brilliant technician Michael Roberts decided after seeing some online to make some visors using our materials and resources at the school.

“We managed to make 78 of these at the school the other day and they have been distributed to Llangollen Health Centre and across North Wales.

“I am trying to source more material to try and make some more because as soon as they were made they were being picked up or dropped off.”

He added: “We cut them in school on Tuesday and my wife, who works for the NHS, and daughter helped me assemble most of them at home.

“My colleague from school Jamie Roberts took some to assemble at home for Llangollen Surgery and the rest were distributed across north Wales.

“Other Design and Technology departments have started to do the same thing now.

“We collaborated with Ysgol Friars in Bangor and Ysgol Bryn Elian in Colwyn Bay to make more and aim to try and do more next week if we can source materials.”

Ambulance service’s plea for public's honesty during outbreak

The Welsh Ambulance Service is urging the public to be honest about the nature of their illness when calling 111 or 999 for help.

The service says it has become apparent that some members of the public have been withholding information about their illness during the Covid-19 outbreak for fear of not being sent an ambulance, according to feedback from Trust staff.

This means crews have been attending some incidents without the necessary protective equipment, exposing them to potential harm.

The service is asking the public to be open and transparent about the nature of their call and their symptoms so it can signpost patients to the most appropriate care and safeguard its crews from contracting the virus.

In a video message to the public shared on social media, Lee Brooks, the Trust’s Director of Operations (pictured), said: “Right across our organisation, staff are working tirelessly to ensure we can continue to provide you the best possible care as we respond to Covid-19.

“This is unchartered territory for our generation but our plans continue to develop as we work with our partners to ensure that we deliver care as safely and effectively as possible.

“I have a plea for the wider public at this time. Our teams operating in your community are reporting that they arrive at the scene of an incident, possibly at your home, to discover that callers have withheld information about their symptoms.

“Some of you have told us that you were concerned that, had you been honest, an ambulance would not have been sent.

“We understand your concerns but I want to make a couple of things clear. Firstly, we will always send an ambulance where it is warranted, but this means relying on what our call handlers are told at the point that you call us.

“If you don’t give us accurate information, you risk the welfare of the people whose job it is to care for us all. This is incredibly unfair on our staff, as it means that their right to enter your home prepared has been removed.

“Personal protective equipment is worn by our staff to protect them from contracting the disease.

“I must ask everyone who calls either 111 or 999 to be honest with us about what’s wrong with you and allow us to signpost you to the right care.

“These are difficult times for us all, but please don’t put our staff in harm’s way when they just don’t need to be.”

Lee added:  “Please heed the official advice from government and Stay At Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives.”

Click here to watch Lee’s video message in full.

Broughton centre to manufacture ventilators

The AMRC Cymru at Broughton is one of several key sites set to host the rapid manufacturing of ventilators as part of a consortium of businesses united under the VentilatorChallengeUK initiative.

Building on a UK-wide effort, manufacturing will begin in early April at the Welsh Government-owned facility, which is managed by the University of Sheffield’s renowned Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC). The VentilatorChallengeUK consortium includes AMRC Cymru anchor tenant Airbus, along with BAE systems, Rolls Royce, GKN Aerospace and Siemens UK among others, who have taken many of their best people from key projects and dedicated significant resources to serve the national need. The group will harness their collective design, development and manufacturing capabilities to rapidly produce much needed ventilators for the NHS. They have received an order to produce at least 10,000 units from the UK Government.  Minister for North Wales Ken Skates said: “I’d like to thank all the great businesses involved in the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium for their brilliance and innovation at this time of crisis. I’m so pleased that Airbus can use the state-of-the-art facilities at AMRC Cymru to help manufacture ventilators and that they are taking part in this important national project to save lives.  When we opened the AMRC Cymru last year we could not have foreseen it would play such a critical role at this time of national emergency." Martin Bolton, Head of Assembly, Wing of Tomorrow, at Airbus said: "Airbus has a crucial role to play in the fight against COVID-19.   "We are part of the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium focused on accelerating the production of life-saving ventilators in support of the NHS. Our engineers and technology teams are working flat out to respond to the challenge and I'm proud to be a part of the team.”    Katherine Bennett CBE, SVP Airbus in the UK, said:  “The fight against Covid-19 affects every one of us. Airbus is part of the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium and is using its industrial skills to rapidly scale up the production of ventilators to support the NHS and help save lives. I would like to thank all of our employees involved for their fantastic commitment to help the UK at this time.” More details about the Ventilator Challenge are available here: http://www.ventilatorchallengeuk.com/

Public Health Wales Thursday update

Public Health Wales statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak

This statement will be updated daily at 2pm

Updated: 2:00pm Thursday 2 April

Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said:

“284 new cases have tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 2,121, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher. 

“19 further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), taking the number of deaths in Wales to 117.

“We offer our condolences to families and friends affected, and we ask those reporting on the situation to respect patient confidentiality.

“Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is now circulating in every part of Wales.  The single most important action we can all take in fighting Coronavirus is to stay at home in order to protect the NHS, and save lives.

“We know that staying at home can be hard, and we want to thank each and every person across Wales for doing their bit to help slow the spread of the virus.”

“Members of the public must adhere to social distancing rules about staying at home, and away from others, introduced by the UK and Welsh Government.  These rules are available on the Public Health Wales website.

“People no longer need to contact NHS 111 if they think they may have contracted Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  Information about the symptoms to look out for is available on the Public Health Wales website, or members of the public can use the NHS Wales symptom checker.

“Anyone with a suspected coronavirus illness should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.  They should only contact NHS 111 if they feel they cannot cope with their symptoms at home, their condition gets worse, or their symptoms do not get better after seven days.

“Only call 999 if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, do not call 999 just because you are on hold to 111.  We appreciate that 111 lines are busy, but you will get through after a wait.

“The public play a very important role in slowing the spread of infection. By strictly following the latest measures, you will protect yourself, protect the most vulnerable and help to reduce the pressure on NHS Wales and minimise the impact of the virus.”

Numbers of confirmed cases by local health board

Health Board	New cases	Cumulative cases
Aneurin Bevan	85	766
Betsi Cadwaladr	26	117
Cardiff and Vale	68	528
Cwm Taf	32	242
Hywel Dda	27	134
Powys	5	34
Swansea Bay	35	248
Resident outside Wales	3	17
To be confirmed	3	35
Wales Total	281	2104
Total	284	2121

Eisteddfod president Terry Waite speaks about lockdown and his own captivity

* Eisteddfod president Terry Waite was interviewed on Sky TV.

Terry Waite, who is the much-respected president of Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, has been speaking about what the coronavirus crisis means for himself and the rest of the country.

And the 80-year-old former church envoy had some tips on how to make it successfully through lockdown.

Mr Waite, who won’t now be making his usual appearance in town after social distancing rules led to the postponement of this year’s eisteddfod in July, was being interviewed for Sky TV from his home in rural Suffolk where has seen in self isolation.

He first explained how he spent around five years in captivity in war-torn Beirut after himself being taken prisoner by extremists while he was interceding on behalf of hostages in 1987.

He told the interviewer how he was first held in an underground cell and later a bombed-out building, often chained to a radiator for over 22 hours a day without human company or contact with the outside world.

He said: “Many people at the present time must also be deeply worried, about their jobs, their future and their family.

“I was worried about my family, my own situation and if I would live and had to come to terms with these extreme feelings.

“The way to do this was to try and live for the moment, to try to make the most of living as fully as possible. That was my way of surviving.

“It’s about adjusting to the situation we find ourselves in and for the majority of us it will be fine.”

During lockdown he said it was also important for people to keep their dignity and self-respect.

Telling a story about how at the end of each day in his captivity he would take off his trousers, carefully fold them and then put them under his bed to press them, he said: “Don’t just sit around all day in your dressing gown or pyjamas.

“Form a structure for the day. At the moment I’m using my time to write another book.”

Asked what society would learn about the coronavirus crisis, he said: “A situation like often brings out the best in people and I hope it will bring a new sense of community and society when we’ve been through all this.”

* To see he full interview, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM9ciXrjP-4