Latest coronavirus update from Welsh Government

Latest Covid-19 updates from the Welsh Government are:

• Public Health Wales has announced that screening programmes in Wales will resume sending invitations and reminders to people eligible for screening for cervical, breast and bowel cancer, starting with Cervical Screening Wales from the end of June.
• Health Minister Vaughan Gething has also urged people not to ignore symptoms which may be cancer, saying the NHS is continuing to provide urgent treatment and diagnostics for suspected cancer.
• https://gov.wales/essential-cancer-services-and-support-campaign-urges-patients-dont-wait-dont-leave-it-too-late
• Health Minister Vaughan Gething has published a written statement about dexamethasone https://gov.wales/written-statement-dexamethasone-covid-19

• The Chief Statistician for Wales’ latest blog article is about coronavirus mortality statistics and how Wales compares with the rest of the UK: https://digitalanddata.blog.gov.wales/2020/06/16/chief-statisticians-update-how-does-covid-19-mortality-in-wales-compare-with-the-rest-of-the-uk-and-how-does-it-vary-within-wales/
• The Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism has published a written statement about the return of professional sport in Wales, including the return of Championship football behind closed doors in Wales https://gov.wales/written-statement-return-professional-competitive-sport
• Updated guidance for taxis and private hire vehicles https://gov.wales/taxi-and-private-hire-vehicle-guidance

• Public Health Wales has today confirmed 53 new cases of coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total number to 14,922, although the actual number will be higher.

o   Sadly, there were 10 deaths of people with confirmed coronavirus reported by Public Health Wales today, bringing the total reported by Public Health Wales to 1,466. 

Where to find the latest information

• Public Health Wales provides a daily update about the number of cases of coronavirus in Wales. It is available at: https://phw.nhs.wales/news/public-health-wales-statement-on-novel-coronavirus-outbreak/
• Information about coronavirus is available on the Welsh Government’s website at https://gov.wales/coronavirus and https://llyw.cymru/coronafeirws
• Queries about support for businesses, including about eligibility for the Economic Resilience Fund? Visit the Business Wales website https://businesswales.gov.wales/coronavirus-advice/
• If you can help the effort to produce PPE in Wales please visit https://businesswales.gov.wales/news-and-blogs/news/provision-critical-equipment-and-personal-protection-equipment-ppe
• Want to know when and where to wear a face mask? https://gov.wales/face-coverings-frequently-asked-questions
• Want to make your own face covering? https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2020-06/how-to-make-a-3-layer-face-covering.pdf
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• The Welsh Government holds a daily media briefing about coronavirus. These are on-the-record, on-camera and routinely supported by a BSL translator. They will be held at 12.30pm every week day. They are live-streamed on our @WelshGovernment Twitter channel and are broadcast live on BBC One Wales and S4C.
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• Minister for International Relations and the Welsh Language Eluned Morgan held today’s press conference – you can watch again at: https://twitter.com/WelshGovernment/status/1273215556041052162

County's urgent message for parents about schooling changes

* Ysgol Dinas Bran.

Denbighshire County Council is informing parents and guardians that school hubs, created to provide childcare for criticial workers and vulnerable children during the coronavirus crisis, will close on Friday, June 19. 

But it says those youngsters will be able to access the childcare in the normal school they are enrolled at as of Monday, June 22.

The council advises that parents and guardians will not need to re-register for the service, as the local authority will forward the information to each school about those children who are already on the childcare register.     

The schools will then liaise directly with families about the childcare arrangements at the individual locations.

If the current hub building happens to be the child’s usual school, they will return to the same location from Monday, June 22.

The council says the reason for the change is to prepare the hub school buildings to re-open their doors when the new arrangements for schools comes into effect at the end of the month. 

Parents are asked to note that whilst all concerned are working very hard to put the necessary arrangements in place and share necessary information, arrangements may change  and they will be kept fully informed.

Councillor Huw Hilditch-Roberts, Cabinet Lead Member for Education, Children’s Services and Public Engagement, said: “The hubs were set up to provide childcare for children of critical workers and vulnerable children. 

“I would like to thank all the staff involved in working at the hub schools over recent weeks for providing such a valuable service at a really crucial time. This has allowed parents/ guardians to carry out their critical roles in the fight against covid-19.

“As our focus turns to the preparation for schools to re-open across the county later this month, the children attending the hubs will be asked to relocate to their usual schools from June 22 where the childcare provision will continue. We would like to thank parents and guardians for their co-operation in advance."

Work to start on major A55 junction

Work to improve junction 19 of the A55, to make it safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, will begin today (Wednesday), says the Welsh Government.

The junction, known as the Black Cat roundabout, is a busy intersection where the A470 meets the A55 near Llandudno Junction.  The work will include widening the junction, the construction of safer crossings for pedestrians and cyclists, the installation of traffic signals at key locations and an upgrade from the current street lighting to an energy-efficient LED alternative. The routes for cyclists and pedestrians will also link with the current path on the A470 to encourage active travel in the area.  Traffic signals will help manage congestion on the off slips, reducing the length of queues and the traffic speed to improve safety on the roundabout. The work would originally have been carried out after the summer embargo. But traffic levels on the A55 are almost half their normal level as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, providing a window to complete the work earlier than intended with minimal disruption to the public.  Construction workers will follow strict social distancing at all times. Transport and North Wales Minister Ken Skates said: “This is an important scheme on a very busy junction where two of our major roads meet. The scheme will encourage walking and cycling by making the junction safer. Traffic speeds will also be lowered as a result of the improvements, helping reduce the number of accidents. “This is the first of our pinch point schemes to go ahead and it will deliver a real difference to all forms of transport once completed.” The first phase of works is scheduled to begin on June 17 and will continue until the end of September, depending on weather conditions, but every effort will be made to finish ahead of schedule if possible, says the Welsh Government. If the coronavirus restrictions are eased and traffic increases, the contractors will modify their way of working to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. Works which are likely to cause more disruption have been prioritised to take place during the first phase  while traffic levels remain lower than usual. The works will require the narrowing of the lane on the junction 19 circulatory and there will be a single lane closure on the A55 eastbound and westbound off slip in addition to the installation of discrete areas of traffic management as the project progresses to accommodate some installation works. Work will be carried out during extended daytime shifts.

Help group to deliver face masks to over-70s

Llangollen Coronavirus Help Group says it is about to deliver a large stock of face masks to certain local residents.

On Facebook yesterday evening co-ordinator Cat Meade posted: "The group and Llangollen Town Council have generated funding to purchase 500 face masks  for our residents.

"We are currently aiming to gift to those over 70 years of age. If there is any left or requirement for more we will do our best to raise further funds.

"The masks have been made by a local resident Rose Brown who is merely covering her material costs to assist us with this huge donation to our community. Thank you Rose.

"I have general apartment blocks on my list, however should you, your parents, grandparents, neighbour require one of the masks and are over 70 please email me at catherine@wingetts.co.uk with name and address, or inbox me on here, to be added to delivery.

"Once again our fantastic volunteers and I will begin delivering at the end of this week.

"We want to ensure our residents are safe when preparing to leave their homes to shop etc.
#llangollenfamily" 

MP backs community power generation schemes Bill

Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes (pictured) has signed up to support the Local Electricity Bill in Parliament.

The Bill seeks to enable small, community-scale generators to become local electricity suppliers and sell their energy directly to local people.

Currently, a community that generates its own energy - for example, a housing estate with solar panels – cannot sell the energy they generate directly to local people, but must sell it to a utility which then sells it on to customers. 

The Local Electricity Bill would give small-scale suppliers the right to sell their energy directly to local people and make it financially viable to do so.

Simon Baynes said: “Corwen is a good example of a community that would benefit in terms of additional income. They are already at the forefront, having launched their own renewable energy project pooling power from a local hydro scheme and domestic solar panels.

“I think this Bill has real potential to boost renewable energy projects, like we see in Corwen, and provide more environmentally-friendly, potentially cheaper energy for people in communities across Clwyd South.”

Compensation arrangements for garden waste service

Denbighshire County Council is reminding residents of the arrangements in place for compensating for the temporary stoppage in the garden waste service, as a result of the covid-19 restrictions.

The service was suspended on 20^th March following restrictions by Welsh Government, as they meant that staff needed to either self-isolate or some staff became unwell and the Council needed to make the difficult decision to suspend the service. The paid- for service resumed officially on June 1^st. 

Residents who had a valid subscription for the entire 10 week stoppage will have their subscription extended by those 10 weeks.  

Where subscriptions had lapsed part way through the suspension,  extensions will be added on a pro rata basis, for example, a resident who had paid for 6 out of the 10 weeks, will have their subscription extended by 6 weeks.

Customers who are already paying for their garden waste service by Direct Debit will not need to contact the Council. The Council will put back the date of all future annual invoices to account for the stoppage.

Residents who have allowed their subscriptions to lapse and not yet renewed them at all should contact the Council so that any additional collection entitlement can be agreed.

Councillor Brian Jones, Cabinet Lead Member for Highways, Planning and Environment, said: “The Council fully understood the frustration faced by some residents of not having a garden waste collection service and the Council worked tirelessly to restore the service as quickly as possible.

“We are pleased at the response by the general public and the service is now operating as normal.  We’re also grateful for the opportunity to explain how people who missed collections during the lockdown will be compensated. No one will miss out financially, as we will simply extend the subscription by the number of weeks collection missed”.

Denbighshire Leisure supports Welsh Mountain Zoo

Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is helping to raise funds for the Welsh Mountain Zoo during the pandemic by giving Ninja TAG games with every donation to the official zoo recovery fund.

The Welsh Mountain Zoo, National Zoo of Wales in Colwyn Bay, faces an uncertain future if it can’t keep vital funds coming in during the pandemic.

As well as sharing the same North Wales Coast as the Welsh Mountain Zoo, SC2 and Ninja TAG in Rhyl is also part of the North Wales TenTop Attractions group. 

Ninja TAG in SC2 Rhyl, is giving free offers to every person who donates £20 or more to the official recovery fund and the attraction hopes that working together they can get through this uncertain time.

Jim Jones CEO of North Wales Tourism said: “It’s heart-warming to see this level of support between attraction businesses in North Wales. Great initiative from Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, and proof that when we work together everybody benefits.”

Marcia Azevedo Moreira, Marketing & Sales Manager, at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, said: “We are extremely grateful that Denbighshire Leisure Ltd, one of our partners in the North Wales TopTen Attractions group, are supporting us during this difficult time. 

"It is incredible to see another popular attraction in the area putting something together that will help us push our plight further whilst giving our wonderful supporters a little treat that they can enjoy once restrictions have been lifted. On behalf of us all here at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, and of course all of the animals, we thanks Denbighshire Leisure Ltd and SC2 Rhyl for their support.”

Ninja TAG is an adrenaline fuelled obstacle course within SC2 Rhyl on the promenade. Players of the game must hit electronic targets throughout the course to gain points and beat the clock and their friends.

Suitable for the whole family, Ninja TAG is the first in Wales with Junior Ninja TAG being the first of its kind created.

Jamie Groves, Managing Director of Denbighshire Leisure Ltd said: “We are living in difficult times and North Wales attractions need to support each other to get through. We firmly believe that ‘together we will beat this’. We have said from the inception of SC2 Rhyl that we want to encourage tourists to come to North Wales and stay in the region, we’re partners not competitors with other attractions, so it only seemed right to help our local zoo during this difficult time.”