Drop in cases welcomed but “it is still people mixing within households that are causing the infection”

The latest Public Health Wales data has Wrexham at 64 cases per 100k on the rolling benchmark figure, a significant drop from a month ago when it was 325 per 100k.

Today’s regular update reports +17 new cases for Wrexham, with a positive proportion of tests at 9.5%.

Yesterday we asked the council about the lowering figures, and if there was any detail in the data they see, as they run the Test Trace Protect (TTP) system locally, that gives insight to where the new cases and ongoing transmission is occurring.

Lead Member for Communities, Partnerships, Public Protection and Community Safety, Cllr Hugh Jones – who also is heading up the council’s covid response, told us, “It is interesting in the way in which you have seen from the figures that Wrexham has gone from being the highest in North Wales, to the lowest in North Wales in terms of across the board figures – Ynys Môn has gone in exactly the opposite direction sadly, and has gone from being the lowest to the highest.”

“What we are seeing in the TTP information we have got is the infections that are taking place by and large in the vast majority are taking place in the domestic setting. So it is still people mixing within households that are causing the infection, albeit welcome that it is it is dropping.”

“What we’re trying to say is, please comply with the with the regulations. Please don’t mix in houses, in a domestic setting, because that’s where the remaining infections are continuing to take place.”

“Obviously people have been listening to that message because the rates have been falling, and that’s really good news. If they hadn’t been listening, the rate wouldn’t have fallen. But, the TTP information is that it is still in the domestic setting where the vast majority of infections are taking place.”

In a weekly Public Health update for council areas up to the 20th of February Wrexham’s performance is compared to other parts of Wales:

Summary of COVID-19 confirmed cases and confirmed case incidence per 100,000 population between 14th and 20th February 2021 in those aged 25y or younger and adults aged 60y and older, by Local Authority. Figures higher than the Welsh average have been highlighted. The higher the number the more intense the colour.

Further data outlines confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Hospital between 14 th and 20th February 2021, by Local Authority. Figures higher than the Welsh average have been highlighted. The higher the number the more intense the colour.

Wales-wide age data has also been released, showing the of confirmed COVID-19 episodes in the 7 day age window, grouped by age group and sample source:

One final graph shows the confirmed case figures for North Wales local authorities from November through to mid-February:

Yesterday we also asked about the process of testing in schools, with Welsh Government saying extra money is being provided to allow lateral flow testing and masks.

Wrexham Council’s Chief Executive said that was being dealt with direct with schools, “There has been test packs received by schools and early years settings, so that they’re being used at the moment. We don’t get in the middle as a council in relation to that, our key role is around making sure that risk assessments are updated, in light of the fact that those additional resources are being provided and making sure schools are in a position to safely reopen”.

Council Leader Mark Pritchard added, “The costs have been met by the Welsh Government, which is good, and I would like to thank them for that. The individuals who are employed in the schools, teachers, teaching assistants, support staff, they have been given testing kits and self testing twice a week. So that is happening as we speak, and that’s good news.”