34 new officially confirmed cases in Wales – UK Gov Health Minister “Everyone will be asked to make sacrifices, to protect themselves and others”

Public Health Wales has stated there are 34 officially confirmed new cases in Wales compared to yesterday, with a total of 94 cases.

However, yesterday the local Health Board stated routine community testing had ceased, so such figures now likely only show confirmed tested cases at hospitals or key worker groups tested as the number of people affected and self isolating grows.

We have copied the full Public Health Wales update below to help those trying to read it elsewhere due to website issues with PHW.

Official advice states anyone with a “new, continuous” cough or high temperature is now advised to self-isolate for seven days, stay away from your GP, pharmacy or hospital. Only contact 111 if your condition worsens considerably.

The latest information is…

– Public Health Wales in their update this lunchtime states there are 34 new cases in Wales (you can read their full update here, however as per the last few days their website has capacity issues)

– Public Health Wales in their update this lunchtime states as of 11am today Wrexham has no *new* cases.

– Overnight UK Gov Health Minister Matt Hancock has written an new article outlining the latest plans in the fight against the spread of coronavirus, including a push to get more ventilators built, and painting a stark picture of what will be needed in the UK in the coming months. The article speaks of ‘maximum transparency’ however initially was published behind a paywall via the Telegraph newspaper. It is reproduced in full below.

– Yesterday it was sadly confirmed an elderly man who tested positive for coronavirus had died in Chester, the man in his 80’s was being treated at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

– Non-urgent hospital appointments and routine surgery are to be cancelled in Wales

– Welsh Government state they are working against a scenario that would see 20,000 deaths from coronavirus in Wales.

– Supermarket Chief Execs are writing to customers to reassure them supply chains are and will be fine, for example Sainsburys have said “… we have more food and other essential items coming to us from manufacturers and into our warehouses and distribution centres.” “Please think before you buy and only buy what you and your family need.”

– Tomorrow will see another live press conference style update from Ministers in Cardiff.

– Tuesday will likely to see UK wide emergency powers to be announced via a ‘Coronavirus Bill’.

All the latest information about coronavirus is available on the Welsh Government website at https://gov.wales/coronavirus and https://llyw.cymru/coronafeirws.

The full article / update overnight from the UK Health Minister is below…
“The coronavirus outbreak is the biggest public health emergency in a generation.

It calls for dramatic action, at home and abroad, of the kind not normally seen in peacetime.

Our goal is clear. The over-riding objective is to protect life. Sadly 21 people have already died in the UK, and the fact that most had underlying health conditions does not make the grief of their families any lesser, nor our compassion for their family and friends any weaker. We must all do everything in our power to tackle this virus.

We have a plan, based on the expertise of world-leading scientists. Herd immunity is not a part of it. That is a scientific concept, not a goal or a strategy. Our goal is to protect life from this virus, our strategy is to protect the most vulnerable and protect the NHS through contain, delay, research and mitigate.

We are working through our clear action plan. Like all our decisions, the plan is based on the bedrock of the science, with maximum transparency. We will do the right thing at the right time, based on the best available science.

To protect life, we must protect the vulnerable, and protect the NHS and flatten the curve.

From the moment coronavirus emerged, we have followed those goals.

We have acted to contain the spread of the virus so far. We have carried out some of the highest number of tests in Europe, our surveillance testing is among the most sophisticated in the world and the UK’s plans for the rapid response to and mitigation of the spread of an epidemic are ranked number one above any other country by the Global Health Security Index.

Most importantly of all, thanks to our record levels of tracing the number of people who came into contact with the first people who caught the virus, the initial growth was slowed significantly, and the growth of the virus in the UK has been slower than many major European countries. This action has already prevented the NHS being put under greater pressure in its hardest season of the year. We have bought valuable time to prepare.

Last week we stepped into the next phase of our response. We took action to advise anyone with symptoms, however mild, to stay at home. This advice from the Chief Medical Officer will be reinforced with a national communications campaign so everyone knows what they can do: how you can play your part.

The new campaign will set out the latest clinical advice, for people to stay at home for seven days if they develop a high temperature or new continuous cough. We can all keep doing our bit by continuing to wash our hands more often, for 20 seconds or more and having plenty of tissues around to ‘catch it, bin it, kill it’. Following this new advice may sound simple, but it could be lifesaving for others around us, especially the most vulnerable.

Today, we take further action, with a call to arms for a drive to build the ventilators and other equipment the NHS will need. We are better equipped thanks to the NHS than most other countries, but we will need many more. We now need any manufacturers to transform their production lines to make ventilators. We cannot make too many.

In the near future we will take further steps. SAGE has advised the next planned effective interventions will need to be instituted soon, including measures to ‘shield’ older and medically vulnerable people from the virus.

Everyone will need to help to ensure they get the support they need to stay at home, and to protect them from the consequences of isolation: loneliness, and a lack of support. Government, local councils, charities, friends and neighbours will need to be part of the national effort to support the shielded. We will provide expert advice and support as soon as we progress to this phase.

Next week we will publish our emergency bill, to give the Government the temporary powers we will need to help everyone get through this. The measures in it allow for the worst case scenario. I hope many of them won’t be needed. But we will ask Parliament for these powers in case they are.

Our generation has never been tested like this. Our grandparents were, during the Second World War, when our cities were bombed during the Blitz. Despite the pounding every night, the rationing, the loss of life, they pulled together in one gigantic national effort.

Today our generation is facing its own test, fighting a very real and new disease. We must fight the disease to protect life. Everyone will be asked to make sacrifices, to protect themselves and others, especially those most vulnerable to this disease.

With our clear action plan, listening to the advice of the best science, and taking the action we all must, I am sure we will rise to this challenge.”

The Sunday Public Health Wales update:

Updated: 12:35pm, Sunday 15 March 2020

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

“We can confirm that 34 new cases have tested positive for Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 94.

“Public Health Wales is working within the phased approach to tackling the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outlined in the UK Coronavirus Action Plan – to contain, delay, research and mitigate.

“We are working with our partners in the Welsh Government, the wider NHS in Wales, and others now that we have entered the ‘delay’ phase.  This is now not just an attempt to contain the disease, as far as possible, but to delay its spread.

“The advice for the public changed.  People no longer need to contact NHS 111 if they think they may have contracted Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  Instead, anyone who has a high temperature or a new continuous cough should stay at home for seven days.  They 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.”

“The public play an important role in this new phase. By following the latest advice, you will protect yourself, protect the most vulnerable, and delay and flatten the peak, which will reduce the pressure on NHS Wales and minimise the impact of the virus.

“The move into the ‘delay’ phase, will include working closely with health boards, NHS 111 and the Welsh Government towards transitioning away from community testing and contact tracing. Testing will now focus on cases admitted to hospital, in line with national guidance, and based on symptoms and severity.

“The move away from community testing gives us greater capacity to test in hospital settings, where the most vulnerable patients will be cared for.

“While there is no longer a need to identify every case through community testing, we will still need to and will be able to report on Novel Coronavirus level in Wales. In a similar way to our seasonal flu reporting, we will be undertaking routine Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) surveillance which will help us understand the picture in Wales.

We will therefore continue in the short term to report numbers of confirmed cases, which will give us some indication of the picture in Wales.

The table below shows the number of cases by local authority as of today Sunday, 15 March. Please note that at the time of publishing, the residential area of 9 of the confirmed cases today were still being confirmed.