Public Health Wales statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
This statement will be updated daily at 2pm
Updated: 2:00pm Thursday 23 July
Dr Robin Howe,
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.
“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.
“An Outbreak Control Team
was convened to look at the outbreak associated with the workforce at Rowan
Foods, and part of its work is to constantly review its data on cases of Novel
Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection.
“As part of this process
we are investigating cases within the Wrexham area through the Test Trace
Protect process. This work naturally includes identifying where we believe
transmission may be occurring, and identifying local clusters of cases.
“The outbreak associated
with the workforce at the Rowan Foods plant in Wrexham remains active, although
the number of reported cases has slowed down considerably.
“As of 22 July, the
total number of positive cases associated with this outbreak is 313, which is a
small increase of four since Wednesday 15 July. There is no evidence that these
infections were acquired either onsite or that the infection is factory-based.
“We will continue to
analyse the data to ensure we are taking appropriate and timely decisions to
bring the outbreak to a close.
“Following an Incident
Management Team meeting on Wednesday 22 July, we have recorded a small number
of additional positive cases identified at the Kepak Merthyr meat processing
plant, with the total now standing at 141 positive cases since April.
“This is not unexpected;
although there are low levels of infection in the community, the infection has
not entirely gone away and more cases should be expected before we are able to
eradicate infection. In addition, focused testing as part of the management of
clusters and outbreaks of Coronavirus will inevitably identify new cases
“If we look at other
data such as hospital admissions or bio surveillance indicators, there is no
evidence of a surge of infections in the wider community in Merthyr.
“It is too early to draw
precise conclusions, but our monitoring does show a historic correlation
between levels of infection in the plant and previous background levels of
infection in the wider community. There is no evidence to suggest any ongoing
transmission in the plant.
“The Incident Management
Team’s investigations are continuing. No outbreak has been declared but all
necessary investigations and control measures are being undertaken.
“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 Iau 23 Gorffennaf - I ddilyn