Hundreds of eligible people in the 50 to 64 year old age group turned up at a rain-swept Llangollen Pavilion for their flu jabs this morning (Sunday).
Those receiving the injections in the busy drive-through session, which has now finished, had to pre-book their places.
The jabs were given by a team from Llangollen Health Centre while volunteers from the Tidy Town Team took care of traffic management.
The Llangollen resident leading the campaign, backed by a petition, to have a permanent recycling facility people from this area can use has explained why he thinks a conveniently located centre is so important.
Phil Jones said: "Can you guess what the picture above is?
"It's an example of fly tipping. Why do people do such things you may wonder? Well, one reason is that they value their own convenience over and above the environment and the countryside in which they live.
"When all convenience is effectively removed from our ability to recycle, then more people will choose the easy option and throw their rubbish over the nearest convenient embankment.
"It happens on the Gwernant and on the Panorama, and it's the council, - you the ratepayer - who picks up the bill for clearing up the mess.
"The example pictured was found in Denbighshire this week and thankfully not in the Dee Valley AONB.
"In the Dee Valley we have been deprived of convenient access to a proper recycling facility for nearly a year now, and that’s why we have launched our campaign for access to the Plas Madoc recycling site.
"You may have already signed our petition, but we need as many people to sign it as possible. So, we urge you to get like-minded friends and family to sign it too.
Latest roadworks from one.network is:
Regent Street,
Llangollen, Denbighshire
15
December — 18 December
Delays
likely - Traffic control (two-way signals)
Works
location: OUTSIDE 36.
Works
description: NEW SERVICE LAYING - 3 PUBLIC OUTSIDE OF 36 REGENT
STREET...
Responsibility
for works: Wales & West Utilities Limited
Current
status: Planned work about to start
Works
reference: XY254004000165215
* The testing centre at Market Street car park.
The Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has set up a temporary Covid-19 testing centre on the Market Street car park, which opens at 9.30am this morning (Saturday).
The walk-in and drive-in centre, which will stay open until 3.30pm and remain there until Monday December 28, is located in the coach parking area of the car park.
The health board says the aim is to make it easier for people in the area to get tested for Covid-19 closer to home.
The board adds that no appointment is needed for a test. Anybody with symptoms of COVID-19 can attend for testing.
The temporary testing unit in Ruthin has now closed.
* For more details about testing, go to: https://bcuhb.nhs.wales/covid-19/book-a-covid-19-test/
Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism businesses impacted by latest coronavirus restrictions can now find out how much they can expect to receive from the latest round of the Welsh Government’s business support package.
The government recently announced £340m to assist businesses affected by
coronavirus restrictions which came into force on 4 December.
The latest package
includes a £160m Restrictions Business Fund, predominantly for businesses paying
non domestic rates, and a £180m grant fund specifically for impacted businesses
in the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors.
Under this latest
round of Welsh Government support a typical hospitality business in Wales with
the equivalent of six fulltime staff could be eligible to receive between
£12,000 and £14,000 to help them through this period of restrictions and into
the New Year.
The £160m
Restrictions Business Fund will see impacted businesses that pay non-domestic
rates within the hospitality, tourism, leisure, retail sectors and their supply
chain qualifying for a one-off payment of between £3,000 and £5,000.
Hospitality
businesses that received non-domestic rates funding under the previous
firebreak restrictions can expect this payment before Christmas. However, all
other eligible businesses will need to register in the New Year to receive
their payment.
Impacted firms, including
those not paying business rates, can also apply for a share of the £180m Sector
Specific Fund. This part of the package, which is calculated on a business’
staff count and turnover, is expected to support up to 8,000 businesses in
sectors impacted by the restrictions and potentially a further 2,000 in related
supply chains.
A new eligibility
checker and calculator is now live on the Business Wales website to help businesses work out what support
they can expect to qualify for. Guidance will also be available for firms
to help them through the application process for the Sector Specific Fund which
will open during the week of 11 January.
Minister for the Economy, Transport and North Wales, Ken
Skates, said: “We know how difficult the latest restrictions are for our
hospitality businesses, particularly at this time of year, but accelerating
coronavirus rates have meant we have had to make difficult decisions to protect
people’s health and save lives.
“Available
evidence, including a recent paper by the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for
Emergencies (SAGE) tells us that measures in Scotland’s level three and
England’s tier three are effective in reducing virus spread. We have introduced
this latest round of restrictions to bring us in line with Scotland level three
and England tier 3.
“Through this
£340m package of support we are working to directly assist hospitality
businesses and to get financial support to them as quickly as possible. Many
will receive between £3K and £5K this side of Christmas, and in addition can
apply for a sector specific grant that will follow in the New Year.
Deputy Minister
for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas, said: “We are fully aware,
not least from our hospitality stakeholder group, of the impact of the
restrictions that we have had to bring in. This is not the Christmas period
that any of us wanted but I would urge businesses to take advantage of the help
available and to use the calculator to find out how much help they can expect
to receive so they can plan accordingly.
“We will continue
to do everything we can to support our firms and our people through to the
other side of this dreadful pandemic.”
This latest in
Welsh Government funding is in addition to other UK Government support, such as
the Job Retention Scheme, making it the most generous business support offer in
the UK.
Following discussion with all of its schools, Denbighshire County Council has taken the decision to close all of its primary schools, special schools and pupil referral units from Wednesday (December 16) for face to face learning.
This follows
the Welsh Government decision to move all secondary schools and colleges in
Wales to online learning from Monday (December 14).
Cllr Huw
Hilditch-Roberts, the Council’s Lead Member for Education, Children's Services
and Public Engagement, said: “We have reluctantly taken the decision to close
our primary schools for face to face learning early. Confirmed cases associated
with Denbighshire schools continue to be in single figures owing to the hard
work of pupils, parents and staff.
“With primary
schools closing across North Wales, the Council felt it had no choice but to
take the decision to provide continuity with other areas, giving parents and
guardians sufficient notice to prepare and to further ensure the safety of
children and staff in the run up to Christmas.
“Primary schools
will remain open for vulnerable learners and the children of key workers until
Friday, December 18.”
The Welsh
Government announced the decision to move all secondary schools and colleges in
Wales to online learning as part of a ‘national effort to reduce transmission
of coronavirus’ following advice from Wales’s Chief Medical Officer.
Cllr
Hilditch-Roberts added: “As we approach Christmas and the end of term I want to
thank all pupils, staff and families for their support and their effort in the
fight against COVID-19.
“Primary
schools, special schools, pupil referral units and secondary schools in the
county will be arranging remote learning for pupils until December 18 and to
echo the words of the Education Minister, this period is not an early Christmas
holiday.
“Christmas is
a time of great excitement and joy for our students but it is also a time when
the temptation to stray from the strict rules we have been asked to follow may
be higher than ever. It is important for everyone who has worked tirelessly to
enjoy a happy Christmas holiday that we continue to observe the rules as I know
so many of you have.
“I would again
like to thank pupils, parents and staff for their support during what has been
a hugely challenging term for all of our schools and the communities they
support and work in.”
The final day
of face to face learning for primary schools will be Wednesday, December 16
with remote learning for pupils taking place on December 17 and 18.
* First Minister Mark Drakeford.
An updated version of Wales’s covid control plan will be published next week, the First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced.The plan
sets out in detail how national measures will be introduced in a more uniform
and predictable way, depending on a range of indicators, including the level of
the virus in Wales and the risk of infection.
It updates the approach to changing restrictions set out in Leading Wales out of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Unlocking Our Society and Economy.
And it aims to provide greater certainty for people and businesses about the
restrictions, which are needed to protect people’s health and slow the spread
of the virus.
Wales is
currently at alert level three. The national measures were strengthened on
December 4 in response to rapidly accelerating levels of coronavirus across
Wales.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “This has been a truly challenging year. The impact of coronavirus on us all – on all aspects of our lives – cannot be underestimated. Like almost every country in the world, we have put restrictions in place to control the spread of this deadly virus.
“This
updated plan shows how the national measures will be introduced in a more
uniform way as we move through the pandemic, providing greater certainty for
people and businesses.”
The
updated plan has been informed by latest analysis from our scientific and
medical experts and the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).
It has also been informed by the experience in other parts of the UK.
The plan
sets out four alert levels – from alert level one to alert level four:
The First
Minister said that if the strengthened national measures, together with the
efforts everyone is making, do not succeed in reducing the rates of coronavirus,
Wales will need to move to alert level four after the five-day Christmas
period. But this move is not a foregone conclusion.
He added: “The most important thing we can all do to control the spread of coronavirus is to reduce the number of people are in contact with. This virus thrives on human behaviour – whenever and wherever we come together and spend time together, the virus can be transmitted from person to person.”
The
national measures will continue to be reviewed every three weeks, whatever
alert level Wales is currently in.
