This update was sent to the Cymorth mailing list on 13 December. You can view the original email here and sign up to receive future mailings here. 

Welsh Government COVID-19 guidance

The Welsh Government continues to update its guidance about the rules in place to protect people in Wales from COVID-19. 

Updated COVID control plan for Wales

On Friday the First Minister announced that the Welsh Government will be publishing an updated version of Wales’ COVID control plan in the coming week. He has also published a written statement which outlines these plans and urges people to take action to reduce the risk of infection over the coming weeks.

The plan sets out four alert levels and while the Welsh Government intends to roll this out nationally, the regulations will enable Ministers to apply the levels locally or regionally if the situation changes:

• Alert level one (low-risk) – this represents the closest to normality we are likely to have before the summer and the widespread take-up of vaccinations.

• Alert level two (medium-risk) – additional, targeted controls are put in place to maintain infection rates at lower levels. These may be complemented by more targeted local restrictions to manage specific incidents and outbreaks.

• Alert level three (high-risk) – these are the strictest package of restrictions, short of a firebreak or lockdown.

• Alert level four (very high risk) – restrictions at this level are equivalent to a lockdown and reflect the seriousness of the situation.

Changes to self-isolation period

The Welsh Government has announced a reduction to the self-isolation period from 14 days to 10 days following the advice of the Chief Medical Officer and the UK Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. The Health Minister has published a written statement about this matter. 

Advice for people in the shielding group during the festive period

The Welsh Government has published advice for people who were in the shielding group about how they and their families can manage the risk of infection during the Christmas period.

This follows the publication of guidance about how to form a 'Christmas bubble' with friends and family during the festive period of 23 December - 27 December. 

Statistics from the Welsh Government’s briefings

The Welsh Government has started to publish the slides and data sets from the Welsh Government's televised COVID-19 briefings:

• First Minister’s briefing: 4 December 
• Health Minister's briefing: 7 December
• First Minister’s briefing: 11 December 

Technical Advisory Group reports and advice 

The Welsh Government's Technical Advisory Group has published a series of reports and advice:

• 3 December - Technical Advisory Group: Summary of evidence on costs and benefits and potential mitigations for measures to address COVID-19 in Wales 
• 3 December - Technical Advisory Group: Report on the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions in the Local Health Protection Zones and the Firebreak in Wales 
• 4 December - Technical Advisory Cell: Summary of advice to Ministers 
• 7 December - Technical Advisory Group: Statement regarding non-pharmaceutical interventions in the pre-Christmas period 
• 11 December - Technical Advisory Group: Briefing paper on the infectivity of COVID-19 

Welsh Government regulations to prevent evictions over the Christmas period

The Minister for Housing and Local Government has published a written statement about Regulations that have been laid to prevent evictions over the next few weeks.

The purpose of the Regulations is to ensure that during the Christmas and mid-winter period, evictions are kept as low as possible. With access to services and alternative accommodation often limited during this time, there is a heightened risk that evictions will lead to homelessness, which in turn increases the risk of transmission of the virus.  

A copy of the Regulations and the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum can be viewed here and here. 

Plans for Lateral Flow Testing for Health and Social Care Workers

The Welsh Government has announced plans to roll out Lateral Flow Testing for health and social care workers on an incremental basis from 14 December, initially by testing those working in services with high risks of Covid-19 transmission, and then in lower risk settings in the week of 11 January 2021. More detail can be found in the Health Minister's Written Statement. 

Written Statement: NHS Pressures

The Health Minister has published a written statement about a framework to support NHS organisations to take local decisions and action to continue to provide care and support to people in Wales. The framework is intended to mitigate the potential risk of harm in the system by:

• maximising use and deployment of the workforce;
• ensuring people only access 999 or hospital care if essential;
• reducing long delays in crucial parts of the system;
• improving patient flow; and
• enabling people to leave hospital when ready, reducing the risk of readmission.