Restrictions could return amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, Drakeford admits
Restrictions could return to Wales amid a surge in Covid-19 cases, Mark Drakeford has admitted.
The First Minister said he never promised that the easing of restrictions would be a “one way street”.
He suggested that restrictions are not likely to change on Friday, but that the Welsh Government is continuing to monitor the situation.
Cases of coronavirus in the UK are up 13% on the previous seven days, while deaths from the virus averaging over 100 a day.
According to the latest data from Public Health Wales there were another 1,393 cases in Wales the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday, August 24. This brings the total in Wales to 266,149. The weekly national case rate has risen to over 300 for the first time since January.
Denbighshire continues to have the highest case rate in Wales at 430.5, up from 414.8 yesterday, and the rates in Neath Port Talbot (409.6) and Swansea (405.7) have also passed 400 after recording 587 and 1,002 new cases respectively in the seven days up to 19 August.
Public Health Wales have confirmed no further deaths due to Covid in the last 24 hours.
More that 9,500 people have tested positive for Covid in the seven days up to 19 August, increasing the rate to 306.1 per 100,000 people, the highest since it hit 373 over the week ending 10 January during the peak of the second wave of the pandemic.
According to the Office for National Statistics, a 571 deaths registered in England and Wales in the week ending August 13 mentioned Covid-19 on the death certificate, which is up 8% on the previous week. It is the highest total since March.
Mark Drakeford told WalesOnline: “We have never said in Wales a move away from restrictions is a one-way street and there was never any turning back.”
‘Reviewed the figures’
He added: “We’ve reviewed the figures again this week, and the cabinet met yesterday. We said two weeks ago that we didn’t intend to make any changes at the end of this week and that’s where I think we will be on Friday.
“At the moment the rising cases is not translating into huge numbers going to the health service, but we watch that every day, and if the circumstances were to get worse and if we did face the health service being under intolerable pressure, then of course we would have to look at the measures we could put in place.
“I think we can have some optimism that the vaccination programme is holding up and is demonstrating its effectiveness in not eliminating the relationship between falling ill and needing hospital treatment, but amending it to an extent that the health service will be able to manage that impact in a way that doesn’t enable us to have to manage restrictions in a way we had to earlier this year.”
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That should bring ARTD and others out in a rash !
I thought the whole point of restrictions was to buy time to get a vaccine developed and then get it rolled out?
I support continued mask wearing and I supported restrictions in the past, but not sure I would support them returning this time.
Because people are being stupid. If their actions only killed themselves then I would agree let them get on with it, but their actions infect and kill others. That is why he have to have restrictions because people are too selfish and behave like idiots as soon as they get into any kind of public setting. I know people are relieved that they can go out and socialise but really they should try being a bit more realistic about our current situation. Covid is not over, not by a long way, in spite of what the imbecile in number 10… Read more »
But people are stupid. It’s practically a fact of life.
You make some very good points, but the central question here is what would make this end? The winter lockdown was particularly bleak for those of us that live in small flats, far away from our families. The reality is that a cycle where that happens every winter is just totally unsustainable. There has to be some kind of end goal scenario, but what is it exactly?
Those not jabbed risk us being attacked by another variant..
A crisis for democratic countries?
What should have happened is that the restrictions should have stayed in place until around 80% of the population were fully vaccinated as this would have prevented or blunted an upswing in infections after the easing of restrictions, but unfortunately Bojo the Clown decided to stick to his road map. This in spite of the fact that the Delta variant changed the dynamics of the pandemic and should have changed the lockdown easing calendar. Unfortunately our glorious leader does what he thinks is popular, not what he thinks is right. We can start by maintaining social distancing and mask wearing.… Read more »
I feel so sorry for the staff in our shops seeking on behalf of Welsh Gvt ( and us I guess ) to hold the line on mask 😷 enforcement. Some folk of all ages and backgrounds- including locals and city visitors from n w England 🏴- just don’t seem to care. These range from the ‘ oh I forgot my mask’ through to ‘ it’s ok in England 🏴 ‘ through to ‘ ill do what I want ‘ With huge increases in illness and yea deaths , Hospitalization and in some cases deaths just leads us to need… Read more »
When is the end game ? Many experts say we have to :learn to live with this. How about changing the statistics around by saying 3,099,000 people did not get the virus today in Wales. I thought we were part of the UK, Drakeford sounds nationalistic to me and has flipped his decisions over the past 18 months.
I suppose he is OK on £170000 a year.
Little has been done for charities not to mention the:huge effect on everybody’s mental health. The Welsh health minister said a while ago that telephone help is available….very helpful !
Mr Conan may find it of use to know that many in the north west of England are very comfortable on holiday here Covid wise. They lament the non mask wearing in supermarkets and public venues. They see the differences in approach in this country of Wales as refreshing rather than separate for separate sake. The same sort of approach is working well in other states across the world with devolved structures. Whether in Australia or Germany , the USA or Spain , local initiatives on health matters have enabled research and monitoring to a judge outcomes. If ‘ flipping… Read more »
My brother, who I was a carer for for 20 years died in the Welsh hospital tragedy.He was in hospital from November 2019..on life support for a few months…then recovered in February 2020 only to be moved to a care home …where he died alone after 2 days.Nobody would tell me anything. No funeral..no mourning and kept in a freezer in Cardiff Docks for 3 weeks. As someone who has had 2 jabs and Covid..with minor: symptoms we need to move on..30000 people die from smoking related diseases…5000 from alcohol….120000 from hearts attacks in the UK every year…why are we… Read more »
A thoughtful response – expressed well and experienced based…thanks
According to P.H.W. figures today (24/8/21) 308,205 of those over 18 years old have NOT had a 1st dose vaccine for one reason or another.
And depressingly the vast majority of them will be people who have simply refused/declined the invitation to have a vaccine.
I’d be willing to put up with some modest restrictions to protect the most vulnerable during winter, but these people… I’m less sympathetic. They’ve been offered their own protection and declined it.
I watched a report online from the US the other day where Dr Anthony Fauci was warning that the high amount of anti-vaxxers over there could allow the virus to thrive & mutate to a point where the current vaccinations become ineffective. So not only are anti-vaxxers putting other peoples lives but increasing the chances of going into yet another lockdown. I think its high time the governments of the world (in our case both the Welsh and UK Governments) adopted a zero tolerance policy towards the anti-vaccine movement because their selfishness is destroying peoples lives. If this means vaccine… Read more »
What a posturing Marxist clown
The Welsh government couldn’t monitor my ar-e.
Not that they’d want to