Public Health Wales statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
This statement will be updated daily at 2pm
Updated: 2:00pm Tuesday 21 July
Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the
Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said:
“We continue to caution and remind the public and
business-owners that we all have a vital role in preventing the spread of
Coronavirus by always sticking to social distancing guidelines - staying two
metres away from others, and washing hands regularly. When travelling you
should also avoid car sharing with people outside your household.
"Anyone with suspected symptoms of COVID-19
infection - a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss of smell or
taste (anosmia) - must self-isolate and seek an urgent test.
"Confirmed cases must isolate for seven days,
with members of their household isolating for 14 days until the risk of passing
on further infection has gone. Combined, these simple but effective actions
will ensure the virus does not spread.
Updates
on current incidents
“Public Health Wales and our
multi-agency partners have been investigating four laboratory confirmed cases
of Coronavirus associated with the Zorba Delicacies Ltd food processing plant
in Ebbw Vale.
“Investigations are ongoing as to
the possible cause of the incident, and no firm conclusions can be reached at
this early stage. No outbreak has been
declared.
“Close contacts of confirmed cases have been contacted
through the Test, Trace, Protect process and provided with additional advice
for themselves, household and other contacts.
“As a precautionary measure, and to
help with further understanding of situation within workplace settings, Aneurin
Bevan University Health Board, in collaboration with the Gwent Regional Test,
Trace, Protect team, will carry out widespread, rapid testing of the workforce
from today (21 July), with the full cooperation of Zorba Delicacies Ltd.
“As we move into the recovery phase
of the Coronavirus pandemic, we expect to see clusters in settings such as
workplaces. We manage any cluster of
Coronavirus appropriately, including by providing advice around infection
prevention and control, and by supporting contact tracing where required.
“Public Health
Wales can confirm that there are no new cases of Coronavirus linked with the 2
Sisters outbreak. The total therefore remains at 221 cases linked to the
outbreak which is linked to the site at Llangefni in Anglesey. The fact
that no new cases have been recorded is a positive sign, and indicates
that control measures have been effective.
“The multi-agency team managing the outbreak of
Coronavirus associated with Rowan Foods Ltd in Wrexham has recorded 309
cases. There continues to be no evidence
that this outbreak is factory-based, and the results we have identified are
what we would expect to see when a focused testing takes place.
“In addition, the total number of positive case
identified at the Kepak Merthyr meat
processing plant is 139 since April.
Investigations in this cluster continue, and updates will be issued in
the coming days.
“The Food Standards Agency advise that it is very
unlikely that you can catch coronavirus from food. Coronavirus is a respiratory illness. It is not known to be transmitted by exposure
to food or food packaging.
Contact
tracing and general information
“Contact tracing continues in Wales as part of the
Welsh Government’s Test, Trace, Protect
strategy. Anyone
who has a positive Coronavirus test will be contacted by a team of contact
tracers, and asked for details of everyone they have had close contact with
while they have had symptoms.
“Please keep a note of your activities so you
can easily remember your whereabouts on a given day, along with who you were in contact
with.
“If you are asked to self-isolate, you should
also comply with this request to prevent further spread of the virus.
“Tracers are trained staff and personal
information that you provide will handled in line with data protection
regulations and will not be shared widely.
“Further information
about the symptoms of Coronavirus is available on the Public Health Wales
website, or members of the public can use the NHS Wales symptom checker.
“Anyone experiencing Coronavirus symptoms can
apply for a home testing kit by visiting www.gov.wales/coronavirus, or by calling the national 119 phone service.
“Anyone with suspected coronavirus 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.
“Only call 999 if you are experiencing a
life-threatening emergency, do not call 999 just because you are on hold to
111. We appreciate that 111 lines are busy, but you will get through after a
wait.”
“Public Health Wales’ user-friendly data dashboard
takes information from a range of different sources. The total number of positive cases now
includes those reported from non-NHS Wales laboratories, which are subject to
ongoing de-duplication, refinement and reconciliation. This may result in fluctuation of the total
positive cases as this process takes place.
“It should be noted that the cases from non-NHS
Wales laboratories are not new cases, and have been on the dashboard for a
number of weeks. They have previously
been reported on a separate tab, but are now incorporated into the totals for
the local authority area and Health Board area in which the patient resides, to
give a complete picture for Wales.
Diweddarwyd: 2:00yp Dydd Mawrth 21 Gorffennaf