Announcing the results of the latest Welsh Government review which has been announced early due to the bank holiday, Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford said the decision to keep masks in health care settings was to “help to control the spread of coronavirus in places where some of the most vulnerable people in our society are being treated and live”. Mr Drakeford said: “Retaining face coverings in health and social care settings will help to control the spread of coronavirus in places where some of the most vulnerable people in our society are being treated and live, while also helping to protect staff. We’re keeping this specific requirement in place while we continue with our gradual and cautious approach towards moving beyond the emergency response and away from the legal protections, which have been in place for the last two years. You can get more Covid news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here. Read more:Mark Drakeford said Boris Johnson ‘clearly broke the law’ “This doesn’t mean the pandemic is over. Unfortunately coronavirus is still with us – we’ve seen a spike in infections over the last month, with large numbers of people falling ill and a surge in hospital admissions. We hope we are beginning to turn the corner. But it’s really important we all continue to take steps to protect ourselves and each other. Everything we do can and does make a difference to the people around us – just as it has since the start of the pandemic. Together we can keep Wales safe and enjoy a brighter future.” The latest Covid figures for Wales are due to be published on Thursday, April 13. We looked at all the latest data from a number of sources and you can read about that here. The move to keep masks in health care settings will be welcomed by the BMA which said it would have been “reckless” to remove the requirement to wear masks in this review. Speaking before the announcement, Dr David Bailey said: “Any removal of the legal requirement for face coverings in health and social care settings at Welsh Government’s upcoming restriction review would be extremely reckless at this time. Many of our patients, by the sheer nature of the health and social care services, are extremely vulnerable; and we know that Covid-19 is still a significant risk to them. “Equally, with levels of infection still too high, frontline healthcare staff remain under pressure when colleagues test positive and are required to isolate to keep others safe.” Dr Bailey also called for assessments to be reintroduced in healthcare settings. “Now should also be the time for Welsh Government to reassess the importance of health and safety risk assessments for both healthcare staff and settings. While these were introduced at the start of the pandemic, we now know much more about the virus than we did then, and these assessments to ensure staff are kept safe in work must be updated too.” The First Minister has repeated five pieces of advice to stop the spread of Covid:
Stay at home (self-isolate) if you are ill or if you test positive for coronavirus Wear a face covering in crowded indoor public places Meet outdoors where possible and ensure indoor areas are well ventilated if meeting indoors Take additional precautions when visiting vulnerable people. Avoid meeting them if possible if you have any symptoms of a respiratory infection Wash hands regularly and cover coughs and sneezes
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title: “Welsh Government Announces Results Of Latest Covid Review " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-19” author: “Todd Davis”
Announcing the results of the latest Welsh government review, announced early due to the banking holiday, Wales’s first minister Mark Drakeford said the decision to keep the masks in health care was “to help control the spread of the coronavirus in places where some of the most vulnerable people in our society are hospitalized and live. “ Mr Drakeford said: “Maintaining face masks in health and social care facilities will help control the spread of coronavirus in areas where some of the most vulnerable people in our society are treated and living, while also helping to protect staff. maintaining this specific requirement, while continuing with our gradual and careful approach to moving beyond the emergency response and away from the legal protections that have been in place for the past two years. You can get more Covid news and other updates by subscribing to our newsletters here. Read more:Mark Drakeford said Boris Johnson “clearly broke the law” “This does not mean that the pandemic is over. Unfortunately, the coronavirus is still with us – we have seen a sharp rise in infections in the last month, with a large number of people getting sick and an increase in hospital admissions. We hope to start turning to But it’s very important that we all continue to take steps to protect ourselves and each other.What we do can and does make a difference to the people around us – just like at the beginning of the pandemic. make Wales safe and enjoy a better future “. The latest Covid Wales data will be released on Thursday, April 13th. We have reviewed all the latest data from various sources and you can read about it here. The move to keep the masks in healthcare facilities will be welcomed by the BMA, which said it would be “reckless” to remove the requirement to wear masks in this review. Speaking ahead of the announcement, Dr David Bailey said: “Any removal of the legal requirement for face masks in healthcare and social care in the forthcoming review by the Welsh Government would be extremely reckless at this time. Many of our patients because of Health and social services are extremely vulnerable and we know that Covid-19 remains a significant risk for them. “Similarly, with infection levels remaining very high, front-line healthcare staff remain under pressure when their colleagues are positive and are asked to isolate themselves to keep others safe.” Dr. Bailey also called for the reintroduction of evaluations in health care settings. “Now should also be a time for the Welsh Government to re-evaluate the importance of health and safety risk assessments for both healthcare staff and facilities. While these were introduced at the beginning of the pandemic, we now know a lot more about the virus than then, and these assessments to ensure that staff remain safe at work must also be updated. “ The Prime Minister reiterated five tips to stop the spread of Covid:
Stay home (isolate) if you are sick or coronavirus positive Wear a face mask in busy indoor public areas Meet outdoors where possible and make sure indoors are well ventilated if you meet indoors Take extra precautions when visiting vulnerable people. Avoid encountering them if possible if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection Wash your hands regularly and cover coughs and sneezes
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