Wales' First Minister has said more than 2,000 healthcare staff in Wales are currently off work due to Coronavirus. Mark Drakeford warned Senedd colleagues that Covid is putting renewed pressure on NHS services.
It has been announced all NHS hospitals in Wales are insisting or at least "encouraging" people to wear face masks. Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Drakeford said there were rising case numbers. He said dentists had recently been told they could step back from some of the infection prevention control measures that had to be brought in due to the pandemic but that is now under review.
The latest ONS figures estimate one person in every 30 people in Wales has Covid-19. Cases of the omicron subtypes BA.4 and BA.5 have increased across the UK, with BA.5 now the dominant form of coronavirus across Wales.
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"Unfortunately, because of the current rapid rise in the number of people falling ill from the virus, and the even greater transmissibility of the latest variants of Omicron that is a position we will have to keep very carefully and review. Coronavirus has not gone away. Thousands of people in Wales are falling ill with the virus. We have 1,500 people who work in the health service not in work today because they have fallen ill with Covid-19 and we have another 600 people beyond that who are self-isolating because they are in contact with someone who's had the virus. That's over 2% of the entire workforce of the NHS, who are unable to be doing all the other things we ask them to do simply because of the continuing impacts of coronavirus here in Wales," he said.
"No member in this chamber should be in any doubt at all that the operating environment in dentistry and right across the Welsh NHS remains very challenging because of the impact that Coronavirus is having." In a press conference on Monday, the First Minister said the number of cases in Wales is "significant" and "the impact on our hospital sector is now once again very real with the rapid rise of people in a hospital bed and indeed rises in the number of people in critical care as well".
WalesOnline had asked to put questions about the current Covid situation to the Welsh Government health minister but our interview request was declined. We do however understand that next week the Welsh Government will update its vaccine strategy with details of the next booster dose in the autumn.
All Welsh health boards are asking people to wear masks, and Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Sir Frank Atherton, reiterated that. "Whilst it is no longer mandatory, people should still wear a facemask in health and care settings and in crowded indoor places and remember all the other simple steps they can take to stop the spread, particularly around more vulnerable people.
"You can still get the vaccine if you haven’t had your full course or you were too ill to get your spring booster and I would encourage parents to think about getting the vaccine for their children over the summer months to help minimise any disruption to their education during the autumn and winter terms. We will shortly be publishing plans for roll out the autumn booster in Wales.
"Some of our hospitals are reporting increased Covid-19 cases and have taken the decision to restrict visiting at the moment. If you are visiting a health setting, please wear a mask and if you are feeling unwell please only visit an emergency departments if it is a real emergency. You can get advice from NHS Wales 111 on the phone or online and your local pharmacist can also provide advice and medicine."
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