Public Health Wales statement on Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak
This statement will be updated daily at midday
Statement: Updated at 12pm on Tuesday 16 February 2021 Dr Giri
Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “You can now not travel directly to Wales if you’ve
visited or passed through a country where travel to the UK is banned in the
last 10 days. These banned countries are often called ‘RED list’
(countries where new variant covid strains have been found). You will
only be able to enter Wales from RED list countries via a designated port of
entry and isolate for 10 days in a nearby managed quarantine hotel. There
are no designated ports of entry in Wales. “For more information on current guidance go to: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-travel “Vaccinating the adult population of Wales, to
protect people from severe disease,
continues at a pace but is a significant task and the vaccine will take time to
reach everyone. The effects of the
vaccines may not be seen nationally for some time and everyone – including
those who have been vaccinated - must continue to follow the advice on keeping
Wales safe. “Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the
numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 95 cases per
100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are
still at nearly double that, and there have been small increases in others. “It is encouraging to see that the numbers of people being treated for
Coronavirus in our hospitals is reducing, but there are still a large number of
people who are extremely ill, which means that the pressure on services is
still very high. “All of Wales remains in lockdown. We recognise that complying with the
restrictions can be challenging, but Coronavirus is still active in our
communities and can cause severe illness and death. The reduction in the number of cases does not
mean that people can meet people from other households (apart from one person
for socially distanced exercise), as this can cause the virus to spread. “As a nation, we have made so many sacrifices throughout the course of
the pandemic that we really don’t want to squander the gains that have been
made in recent weeks. “We encourage
everyone, whatever their background, socio-demographic and ethnicity, to have
the Coronavirus vaccine when they are offered it. We also stress the
importance of seeking information from a trusted source such as Public Health
Wales, the Welsh Government, local health board or GP. “We
continue to work to identify and investigate cases of variant Coronavirus in
Wales. To date, 13 cases of the South Africa variant have been identified in
Wales. Multi-agency investigations continue into two separate cases that do not
have clear links to international travel. There are no cases of the variants
associated with Brazil.” “The UK variant of Coronavirus prevalent in many parts of
Wales is up to 70 per cent more transmissible, and as reported recently there
is evidence which suggests that it may lead to a higher risk of death than the
non-variant. Public Health Wales welcomes the recent evidence that the ChadOx1
(AstraZeneca/Oxford Vaccine Group) vaccine is effective against the UK variant. “We have been alerted to
a number of increasingly sophisticated ‘scam’ emails in circulation claiming to
be from the NHS which purport to offer appointments for vaccination. Coronavirus vaccines currently can’t be
bought privately in the UK. Do not share any of your personal information.
Correspondence will only come from your health board and your vaccination will
be free. “Under current UK Coronavirus restrictions,
you must stay at home. You must not leave home or travel, including
internationally, unless you have a legally permitted reason to do so. “If you are due to travel out of the
UK, please be aware of the changing situation and keep an eye on the Foreign
Commonwealth Office (FCO) website for up to date details.
“If
you or a member of your household develop a cough, fever or change in sense of
taste or smell, you must self-isolate immediately and book a free Coronavirus
test, either by
calling 119 or by visiting
www.gov.wales/getting-tested-coronavirus-covid-19.” Dywedodd Dr Giri Shankar, Cyfarwyddwr Digwyddiad
ar gyfer yr ymateb i'r achos o'r Coronafeirws Newydd (COVID-19) yn Iechyd
Cyhoeddus Cymru: “Ni chewch deithio’n uniongyrchol i Gymru bellach os
ydych wedi ymweld â gwlad neu wedi mynd trwy wlad lle mae teithio i’r DU wedi’i
wahardd yn ystod y 10 diwrnod diwethaf. Yn aml, gelwir y gwledydd
gwaharddedig hyn yn rhai ‘rhestr GOCH’ (gwledydd lle darganfuwyd straeniau sy'n
amrywiolynnau covid). Dim ond trwy borthladd dynodedig y byddwch chi'n
gallu dod i mewn i Gymru o wledydd ‘rhestr GOCH’ a bydd angen i chi ynysu am 10
diwrnod mewn gwesty cwarantîn a reolir gerllaw. Nid oes porthladdoedd gyda
mynediad dynodedig yng Nghymru. “I gael rhagor o wybodaeth am y canllawiau cyfredol,
ewch i: https://llyw.cymru/teithio-coronafeirws
“Mae brechu
oedolion Cymru er mwyn amddiffyn pobl rhag afiechyd difrifol yn parhau ar
gyflymder, ond mae’n dasg sylweddol a bydd yn cymryd amser i frechu pawb. Ar
lefel genedlaethol, mae’n bosibl na fydd effeithiau’r brechlynnau i’w gweld am
beth amser. Mae rhaid i bawb, gan gynnwys y rhai sydd wedi’u brechu, barhau i
ddilyn y cyngor er mwyn cadw Cymru’n ddiogel.
“Er bod y data yn dangos bod nifer yr achosion yn lleihau ar lefel Cymru
gyfan ar hyn o bryd a bod nifer yr achosion bellach yn is na 95 o achosion am
bob 100,000 o’r boblogaeth, mae’r cyfraddau mewn rhai ardaloedd, yn enwedig yng
Ngogledd Cymru, yn dal i fod bron dwbl hynny, a bu cynnydd bach mewn ardaloedd
eraill hefyd. “Mae’n galonogol gweld bod nifer y bobl sy’n derbyn triniaeth am
Coronafeirws yn ein hysbytai yn lleihau. Fodd bynnag, mae nifer fawr o bobl yn
ddifrifol sâl o hyd, sy’n golygu bod y pwysau ar wasanaethau yn dal i fod yn
uchel iawn. “Mae'r cyfyngiadau symud yn parhau trwy Gymru gyfan. Rydym yn cydnabod y
gall cydymffurfio â’r cyfyngiadau fod yn heriol, ond mae Coronafeirws yn dal i
fod ar led yn ein cymunedau a gall achosi salwch difrifol a marwolaeth. Nid yw’r gostyngiad yn nifer yr achosion yn
golygu y gall pobl gwrdd â phobl o aelwydydd eraill (ar wahân i un person er
mwyn gwneud ymarfer corff wrth gadw pellter cymdeithasol), oherwydd gall hyn
achosi i’r feirws ledaenu. “Fel cenedl, rydym wedi aberthu cymaint yn ystod y pandemig felly dydyn
ni wir ddim eisiau difetha’r cynnydd a wnaed dros yr wythnosau diwethaf. “Rydym yn annog
pawb, beth bynnag fo’i gefndir, ei ddemograffeg gymdeithasol a’i ethnigrwydd, i
gael brechlyn Coronafeirws pan gynigir hwn iddo. Rydym hefyd yn
pwysleisio pwysigrwydd cael gwybodaeth o ffynhonnell ddibynadwy megis Iechyd
Cyhoeddus Cymru, Llywodraeth Cymru, bwrdd iechyd lleol neu bractis meddyg
teulu. “Rydym yn parhau i weithio i nodi ac i ymchwilio i achosion o
amrywiolynnau Coronafeirws yng Nghymru. “Hyd yn hyn, nodwyd cyfanswm o 13 achos
o amrywiolyn De Affrica yng Nghymru. Mae ymchwiliadau amlasiantaeth yn parhau i
ddau achos gwahanol nad oes ganddynt gysylltiadau clir â theithio rhyngwladol.
Nid oes unrhyw achosion o’r amrywiolynnau sy’n gysylltiedig â Brasil.” “Mae amrywiolyn y DU o’r Coronafeirws sy’n
gyffredin mewn sawl rhan o Gymru hyd at 70 y cant yn fwy trosglwyddadwy ac, fel
yr adroddwyd amdano yn ddiweddar, mae tystiolaeth sy’n awgrymu y gallai arwain
at risg uwch o farwolaeth o’i gymharu â’r straen gwreiddiol. Mae Iechyd
Cyhoeddus Cymru yn croesawu’r dystiolaeth ddiweddar fod y brechlyn ChadOx1
(Grŵp Brechlyn AstraZeneca/Oxford) yn effeithiol yn erbyn amrywiolyn y DU. “Mae nifer o
negeseuon e-bost twyllodrus a mwyfwy soffistigedig sydd ar led wedi dod i’n
sylw, sy’n honni eu bod nhw gan y GIG a’u bod yn cynnig apwyntiadau
brechu. Yn bresennol, ni ellir prynu
brechlynnau Coronafeirws yn breifat yn y DU. Peidiwch â rhannu unrhyw wybodaeth
bersonol. Dim ond gohebiaeth gan eich bwrdd iechyd y byddwch yn ei derbyn, a
bydd eich brechiad yn rhad ac am ddim. “O dan gyfyngiadau cyfredol Coronafeirws y DU,
rhaid i chi aros gartref. Rhaid i chi beidio â gadael eich cartref na theithio,
gan gynnwys yn rhyngwladol, oni bai bod gennych reswm a ganiateir yn
gyfreithiol i wneud hynny. “Os ydych i fod i deithio y tu
allan i’r DU, byddwch yn ymwybodol o’r sefyllfa sy’n newid a chadwch lygad ar
wefan Y Swyddfa Dramor a Chymanwlad am y manylion diweddaraf. “Os byddwch chi neu aelod o'ch aelwyd yn
datblygu peswch, twymyn neu newid i synnwyr blasu neu arogli, rhaid i chi
hunanynysu ar unwaith ac archebu prawf Coronafeirws am ddim, naill ai drwy
ffonio 119 neu drwy ymweld â https://llyw.cymru/cael-prawf-coronafeirws-covid-19.”