Drakeford warns Wales has three weeks to get Covid under control or restrictions will be reimposed

[ad_1]

Covid restrictions could be reintroduced in Wales within three weeks if cases do not decrease.

First Minister Mark Druckford has issued a stark warning as the latest review of Wales’ Covid rules takes place.

His cabinet met on Thursday to finalize the rule changes.

The changes that come into effect are:

Changes to the rules regarding self-isolation. You can read all the details here. You will need a Covid Pass in theaters and cinemas. Read more about it here. Teachers will be helped to provide measures if case rates are high locally. Stores were encouraged to urge people to abide by the rules for wearing masks. Companies will be encouraged to resume working from home.

If these measures do not see a significant drop in rates, the Welsh government will consider reimposing restrictions.

First Minister Mark Drakeford said: “Over the past three weeks, coronavirus cases have risen sharply to the highest rates we have seen since the pandemic began, and more people are becoming so seriously ill that they need hospital treatment.

“All of this means that the pandemic is not over yet. We need to take more action now to reinforce the measures we have taken at the zero alert level to prevent the coronavirus from spreading further and making more people seriously ill.

“We hope this measure will help turn this delta around. None of us want to see a return to restrictions but if rates continue to rise, Cabinet will have no choice but to consider raising the alert level at the next review.

“Let’s work together as a team to limit the spread of coronavirus, keep Wales open and keep Wales safe.”

Currently, Wales is at Alert Level 0 or Covid Stable. This means there are no restrictions on business, but the law in Wales is that mask-wearing applies everywhere indoors except for hospitality venues. Covid Passes are also used at certain types of places and events.

If there is a transition to ‘Covid Urgent’ it means a return to Wales’ alert level system and restrictions, but the First Minister will say it will only be used ‘proportionately’ and ‘as a last resort’. That could mean restrictions on meeting indoors or on the types of businesses that operate freely, for example.

WalesOnline understands that no decision has been made yet on what type of restrictions will be introduced if no progress is made in the next three weeks.

The latest figures for Wales, released on Thursday, showed 12 more people in Wales had died of coronavirus.

New figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) published on Thursday, 28 October, covering the past 24 hours, show the total number of Covid-related deaths in Wales now stands at 6,134.

Also, 2,664 new positive cases were recorded in today’s update, bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 432,395.

The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales based on cases per 100,000 people (for the seven days to 23 October) is now 671.3 – down from the 699.7 reported on Wednesday and the second day in a row where rates have fallen. For more health related content please go here

Now you can get all the news you need to know sent straight to your inbox by subscribing to WalesOnline’s free newsletter.

Signing up takes just seconds – just click here, enter your email address and follow the instructions.

What do we know?

Covid passes

From November 15, people will need to use a Covid Pass to go to movie theaters or theatres.

From 7 a.m. on October 11, proof was required that you were either fully immune, or had tested negative for Covid in the last 48 hours before you could go to nightclubs, indoor events without seats for more than 500 people, outdoors. – Events for more than 4000 people and any event with more than 10,000 people.

The Welsh government says cinemas and theaters are places where a large number of people congregate indoors, close to each other, for long periods at a time.

self-isolation

Fully vaccinated adults, children and young adults aged 5 to 17 will be asked to self-isolate until they receive a negative PCR test if someone in their home has symptoms or tests positive for Covid-19.

People who have not been vaccinated will still have to self-isolate for 10 days after contact with someone who has tested positive, including close contacts outside their homes.

We asked the Welsh government if someone in the family was waiting for a test result, would all family members need to be isolated pending the result. The answer was yes, if the score is pending for one family member, the whole family will have to isolate it.

If it returns positive, the remaining family members will also need to be tested, and they can only stop isolation if they test negative.

The rules have recently changed, so children under the age of five are not advised to have the tests unless they are showing symptoms.

schools

Staff and high school students will be encouraged to take lateral flow tests twice a week to help keep the coronavirus out of schools.

School administrators will be given additional support to quickly implement measures in their schools if case rates are high locally.

vaccinations

The Welsh government says vaccines remain the best defense against the virus – 400,000 people have received a booster in the fall since the program was launched and more than 40% of children aged 12 to 15 have received their vaccine.

The UK’s four chief medical officers have asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization for urgent advice on reducing the interval between the second dose of vaccine and the booster dose.

any thing else?

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething held a meeting with retailers to ask them to make sure people wear masks indoors. Businesses are also required to ensure that people work from home where possible.

Do you think these measures will do enough to control prices in Wales? Let us know in the comments below.

Read more related articles Read more related articles.

[ad_2]