General Covid 19 news

[SteveH]

12:55  Dr Andrew Goodall will lead today's Welsh Government briefing on Covid-19 from Cardiff.
Fears for winter
Dr Goodall says winter is always hard to prepare for in normal circumstances, especially with the increase in health issues with the elderly. He says they are reviewing the future role of field hospitals, but they will need to be retained into the winter in case there is a peak. He admits that this winter may be more challenging due to the usual health pressures and the added issue of Covid-19.

12:50
'We must be realistic that there could be a second peak'
Dr Goodall says that we went into the pandemic following pressures on the NHS during the winter.

He said that staff retrained before we hit the peak of the virus, but he says he is concerned about ongoing resilience.

Dr Goodall says going forward one approach to resetting NHS activity is to understand how to minimise impacts on staff. He says staff need support and they still need to be realistic that there could be a second peak in the winter.      ref DP

[SteveH]

Interactive map shows how and where second Covid-19 wave could hit North Wales
'The number of individuals at risk of Covid 19 hospitalisation' has been calculated by researchers

An interactive map has been created by Oxford University, which highlights where hospitalisations could increase again due to another Covid-19 wave.

Article    https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/interactive-map-shows-how-second-18567242


FULL MAP... place cursor on map for projected figures
Age-based hospitalization risk and baseline hospital bed capacity in England & Wales
https://livedataoxford.shinyapps.io/COVID19-DemRisk/_w_4aff073c/#tab-4655-4

[Dave]

Who am I to argue but the figures don't look the way I'd expect them to. The current hot spots appear to be low risk and the places like Clwyd comparatively high risk. Is this because the calculations say that the current hot spots will have seen the worst and we have yet to get it?

[SteveH]

Coronavirus: Welsh pubs and cafes to reopen indoors on 3 August

Pubs, cafes, restaurants and bars can reopen indoors in Wales from 3 August, providing coronavirus cases continue to fall.

First Minister Mark Drakeford announced the date in a long list of changes to the coronavirus restrictions.

Exemptions will also be made to Wales' 2m distancing law, with businesses that cannot meet it expected to take precautions.

Hospitality businesses will be able to open outdoors from Monday.

Mr Drakeford said the opening of hospitality businesses indoors would depend on how well the initial phase goes.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-53363807

[SteveH]

Mr Drakeford said: "For the sake of   simplicity"   


Three-layer face coverings will be mandatory on public transport in Wales from 27 July, the first minister has said.

At the daily Welsh Government coronavirus briefing, Mark Drakeford said this would also be the case for taxis and other situations where 2m social distancing was not possible.
Last week, Health Minister Vaughan Gething recommended their use.
But he stopped short of making them mandatory.

Mr Drakeford said: "For the sake of   simplicity    and consistency, as well as being part of our plan to help reduce the risk of transmission while on public transport where it is not always possible to maintain a two metre physical distance, it will become mandatory for people to wear a three-layer face covering while travelling - this includes taxis."

Having a different rule for wearing masks on public transport in Wales and England was "not sustainable in the long term", Mr Drakeford said.
"Our decision to make face coverings mandatory on public transport is a combination of the fact that we know as the economy gets back into operation more people will need to use public transport to go to work and for other purposes, and when more people need to use confined spaces then additional protections need to be introduced in order to overcome the fact that two-metre social distancing will not always be possible," he added.

Masks will not be compulsory in shops
Asked why coverings were not mandatory in other public spaces, Mr Drakwford said: "The advice of the Welsh Government is that if places are crowded then face coverings are advisory. Where places are not crowded it is a matter for the individual citizen to make that decision."

Coronavirus is now "at its lowest ebb" since the pandemic began, he added, saying the Welsh Government's response had to be "proportionate".

While Mr Drakeford said masks would not be mandatory for shoppers, businesses may ask people to wear them.

The Welsh government has recommended face coverings should be three layers thick
He said the retail sector had made "huge efforts" to introduce measures to maintain physical distancing, including putting up one-way systems, limiting the number people who can enter a shop and putting up screens at checkouts.
   are shops still following these procedures ?

But, he added: "At this point in time, when the prevalence of coronavirus is low, we are not mandating the use of face coverings in other public places, but many people may choose to wear them - and there is nothing to stop that happening in Wales.

"Our advice may change if cases of coronavirus begin to increase."

The first minister said the Welsh Government had made changes to regulations which recognise there are some occasions when it is not always possible to maintain a distance of 2m.
"These include maintaining hygiene standards and limiting close face-to-face interaction, wherever reasonable," he added.

He urged people to carry on following the "golden rules" such as washing hands frequently.

Full article and video  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-53390783

[SteveH]

I am not posting this to be gloomy, but it needs to be considered ...." This is not a prediction - but it is a possibility."

The UK could see about 120,000 new coronavirus deaths in a second wave of infections this winter, scientists say.

Asked to model a "reasonable" worst-case scenario, they suggest a range between 24,500 and 251,000 of virus-related deaths in hospitals alone, peaking in January and February.

To date, there have been 44,830 official deaths in the UK, but this has slowed with 1,100 in July.

The estimate does not take into account any lockdowns, treatments or vaccines.

And the scientists say: "The risk... could be reduced if we take action immediately".

The report, requested by the UK's chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, stresses there is still a high degree of uncertainty over how the coronavirus pandemic will play out this winter.

But research suggests the virus can survive longer in colder conditions and is more likely to spread when people spend more time indoors.

And experts are concerned the NHS will be under extreme pressure, not just from a resurgence of coronavirus but also from seasonal flu and a backlog of regular, non-coronavirus workload.

full BBC report    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53392148

[Hugo]

I saw that news on TV earlier today and it's pretty gloomy but it's some way off so the Government have got time to prepare for any second lockdown.
The public has been fobbed off with lies and U turns so the Government needs to get its act together now

[Ian]

It's good that they've got that out there. I suspect a lot of folk are starting to feel it's all blown over when in fact I suspect the worst has yet to come.

[SteveH]

It's good that they've got that out there. I suspect a lot of folk are starting to feel it's all blown over when in fact I suspect the worst has yet to come.

Mrs H pointed out a social media comment, a few days ago, the site was talking about how busy Llandudno was at the weekend, one reply ....     "Nice to see so many visitors about,.......I'm glad the pandemic has gone, as quick as it arrived"

[Hugo]

It's good that they've got that out there. I suspect a lot of folk are starting to feel it's all blown over when in fact I suspect the worst has yet to come.

Mrs H pointed out a social media comment, a few days ago, the site was talking about how busy Llandudno was at the weekend, one reply ....     "Nice to see so many visitors about,.......I'm glad the pandemic has gone, as quick as it arrived"

Words defy me     

[SteveH]

Shielding in Wales will be paused from August 16, Welsh Government confirms

THE Chief Medical Officer for Wales has confirmed people in Wales who are shielding will no longer need to do so after 16 August.

Around 130,000 people in Wales have been advised to take shielding measures since the start of the pandemic because they are at high risk of developing serious illness if they contract coronavirus.

The change in the advice means that, from 16 August,    people in the shielding group can go to work or to school and go shopping but they should continue to take steps to protect themselves from coronavirus by keeping a 2m distance from others and washing their hands frequently.

https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/18587200.shielding-wales-will-paused-august-16-welsh-government-confirms/

[Hugo]

I saw the Mayor of Leicester getting interviewed on the TV this morning and he was not a happy chappie.    The Coronavirus rulings affect us all and now is not the time to be making political capital out of it.
Leicester is in a second lockdown but his complaints were that Tory controlled sections  in the surrounding areas have not been locked down and the results for the city have taken two weeks to come through and those results show that only a small area in the city was the cause of the rise in Coronavirus.
If the results of the testing had come in immediately after testing then only that small area of the city would have had to be closed down.
I would imagine that the problems in Leicester are similar to those experienced in Blackburn and Darwen

[SteveH]

I hope our border agencies are on the ball.................

A Bangladesh hospital owner accused of issuing thousands of fake negative coronavirus test results to patients at his two clinics was arrested on Wednesday while trying to flee to India in a burqa, police said.

The arrest marked the end of a nine-day manhunt for Mohammad Shahed over allegations of giving fake certificates to patients saying they were virus free without even testing them.

Mr Shahed, 42, was one of more than a dozen people detained by authorities over the past few days in connection with the scam.

Experts warn the false documents have worsened the already dire virus situation in the country of 168 million people by casting doubt about the veracity of certificates issued by clinics.

"Italy last week suspended flights to Rome from Bangladesh to stem the spate of coronavirus cases within the community.

Several passengers arriving from Dhaka had tested positive for Covid-19.
"Some of the Bangladeshis who were tested positive in Italy were allegedly carrying negative Covid certificates from Bangladesh,"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/16/bangladesh-hospital-owner-arrested-fake-coronavirus-test-results/

[SteveH]

Doctors' warnings over safety of some face coverings
Not all types of face covering may be effective in protecting people from coronavirus.

The World Health Organisation advises wearing a three-layer face covering in the community - the outer layer should be water resistant, the inner should be water absorbent and the mid-layer acts as a filter.

It emphasises that a face covering alone cannot protect people from Covid-19, and must be combined with social distancing of at least a metre and regular hand washing.

"For instance, combining cotton and silk or flannel provide over 95% filtration, so wearing a mask can protect others."
Loosely woven fabrics, such as scarves, have been shown to be the least effective.

Cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/doctors-warnings-over-safety-face-18624112

[SteveH]

The UK government has signed deals for 90 million doses of promising coronavirus vaccines that are being developed.

The vaccines are being researched by an alliance between the pharmaceutical companies BioNtech and Pfizer as well as the firm Valneva.
The new deal is on top of 100 million doses of the Oxford University vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca.

However, it is still uncertain which of the experimental vaccines may work.
A vaccine is widely seen as the best chance of getting our lives back to normal.

Research is taking place at an unprecedented scale - the world became aware of coronavirus at the beginning of the year, but already more than 20 vaccines are in clinical trials.

Some can provoke an immune response, but none has yet been proven to protect against infection.
When will we have a vaccine?
The UK government has now secured access to vaccines that use three completely different approaches:

100m doses of the Oxford vaccine made from a genetically engineered virus
30 million doses of the BioNtech/Pfizer vaccine, which injects part of the coronavirus' genetic code
60 million doses of the Valneva, which uses an inactive version of the coronavirus

full report    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53469269