, Plenary
The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 21) Regulations 2021
As Members are aware, the omicron variant of coronavirus was first detected on 23 November and was designated a variant of concern by the World Health Organization on 26 November. We now have multiple cases in Wales, and signs of community transmission across…
, Plenary
The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 21) Regulations 2021
Thank you very much, Llywydd. I move the motion before us today. Throughout the pandemic, this Government has worked quickly in response to the latest scientific and medical advice. Our views have been proportionate: we've relaxed restrictions when it was…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you, Heledd. I think it is really important that people understand that our system in Wales is different to that in England. We're not going to have walk-ins as they are seeing in England. It's not going to be a free-for-all here. We will go in order…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much, Gareth. I've got to tell you that overreaction is something that, obviously, we're very aware of. We know that the situation is not all about health; it's about economic consequences, social consequences, mental health consequences; we have…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks, Rhianon. You're absolutely right; the double dose is not enough. But the last thing I want to do is to put off people who haven't had any doses at all. They're the ones I'm still most concerned about—people who have had no protection whatsoever. Our…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you very much, Rhun. I think you're right that very high numbers are going to catch this new variant, and I accept that people's expectations are very high, but I would like to ask the public to wait until they are called so that we can maintain order…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Russell. Vaccination is absolutely the priority now, and if we do want to protect our NHS going into January in particular, then now is the time to do that work, and that's why we have really put a turbo charger up our system, to make sure…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
I encourage everyone to take up the offer of the vaccine. Please make this your priority. It is one of the most important things that you can do to protect yourself. Dirprwy Lywydd, this is an incredibly fast-moving and worrying situation. However, at the…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you for the opportunity to update Members with the latest information about the very fast-moving omicron variant, its impact on Wales and the public health situation here. In my last statement to Members, I said it was…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: World AIDS Day
Thank you very much, Rhun. I'd also like to put on record my thanks for the work done by Fast-Track Cities Cardiff, and I do think that the testing week is something that will become very important in the history of HIV annually in our country. Like you, I'd…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: World AIDS Day
Diolch yn fawr, Russell. I think it is important that we are very clear about how many people are affected by HIV in Wales; in 2019, we had around 2,378 people who had accessed HIV care. About 77 per cent of those were men, and you're absolutely right to…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: World AIDS Day
I am pleased to say that this intervention has been very successful to date and that there have been no new cases of HIV among those receiving PrEP. Between January and October 2021, 1,301 people accessed PrEP. However, during the pandemic, PrEP use has…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: World AIDS Day
Thank you, Presiding Officer. Tomorrow marks World AIDS Day, which is both a time to reflect and to look to the future. HIV and AIDS continue to be a major global public health issue, having claimed an estimated 36.3 million lives globally. The World Health…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much. You're absolutely right; we're being cautious and we're not panicking. That's absolutely where the Welsh Government is at the moment. We are ramping up our vaccination approach and all care staff should have been offered the vaccine by now…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much, Mark, and I would like to remind your constituent that, actually, the travel advice from the Welsh Government is don't do it—don't travel abroad. This is not the time to travel abroad, particularly when we have this new variant that we know…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you very much, Sioned. It's obviously difficult for me to talk about any individual case, but what I do recognise is that it has been more difficult this time to go to specific people in their own homes, because you have to wait for 15 minutes after you…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks, Peter. We're all desperate for a good Christmas this year, aren't we? We were deprived of it last year, and I know in particular lots of old people love and really look forward to that time with their families. I would urge people to understand that…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thanks very much, Rhianon, and, of course, you'll be aware that we have a very clear programme, and now we're going to undertake all of the recommendations that have come from the JCVI. We will be expanding the vaccination programme, as I explained in my…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Thank you very much. Just to make it clear, some laboratories in the UK can't yet identify the new variant through PCR. So, we're just trying to ensure that we know which laboratories those are. Of course, there's a big one in Wales, and that would be in a…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Russell. Just to make it absolutely clear: I'm very aware of the precarious situation we are in in relation to the NHS as we enter winter, which is, traditionally, a very challenging time anyway, but, obviously, this year we have the added…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Llywydd, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has recommended an acceleration of the vaccine programme following the emergence of this new variant. I have accepted the JCVI's advice, and I echo the words of its chair, who has said that we will…
, Plenary
Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on COVID-19
Diolch yn fawr, Dirprwy Lywydd. Thank you very much for the opportunity to update Members about the latest and very serious development in this fast-moving pandemic. At the end of last week, the World Health Organization advised countries around the world to…
, Plenary
The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 20) Regulations 2021
Huw, it's always a joy to hear your special cases, and particularly a joy to hear this one, which is rather quirky. But I am sure, if I am not to intervene at this point, I think speaking in general terms, if people have been advised by public health experts…
, Plenary
The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 20) Regulations 2021
I'd like to thank Rhun for his commitment in supporting these new regulations. You're right that the landscape is very important. Ten per cent of the cases in hospital today are COVID related, and, of course, we're already committed to spending £0.25 billion…
, Plenary
The Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (No. 5) (Wales) (Amendment) (No. 20) Regulations 2021
Thank you very much. I think one of the key things to remember in terms of what we're discussing here today—it's a very legal discussion that we're participating in here—is that part of it is about making sure that, actually, these restrictions are not in…
