Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Rhun, for highlighting the article in The Lancet by Imperial Colleage, and I'm pleased that that information helped Plaid Cymru to come to their conclusions on the regulations today. It's true that the passes won't work in isolation, and every small step does add to our efforts to limit the spread of this virus.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Two of the Plaid Cymru speakers asked about the situation in relation to those people who find it difficult to have vaccinations or to take tests. We have been looking into this and taking it very seriously, and thank you for persevering with that questioning. The Welsh Government did approach Public Health Wales for advice on suitable alternatives to swabbing back in June, and Public Health...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr. Thank you very much for this debate. It has been a very interesting one, as we expected. I think first of all it's probably worth pointing out that we know that this virus spreads in confined spaces when people spend a lot of time there. That's exactly what we're trying to do. There's plenty of evidence to support that and that is what we're suggesting, and why we're keeping...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: If the requirement to present a COVID pass is passed today, it will mean that from 15 November, people over the age of 18 in Wales will need to show a pass before they are allowed entry to cinemas, theatres and concert halls. This will prove they are either fully vaccinated or have had a negative lateral flow test in the last 48 hours. Now, I'm aware that this decision has not been...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and I move the motion before us this afternoon. I stand here in sadness today in bringing forward regulations to increase the use of the COVID pass. However, I must once again emphasise that coronavirus has not disappeared, and unfortunately the situation in Wales remains very serious. The number of cases of COVID-19 is still very high and has been increasing in...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: I absolutely agree with you and I think it's a very cruel form of cancer, this, of course, and I think that we should remember those people who have lost their lives to this very cruel cancer. I am pleased to say that, actually, we are consistently overachieving the targets that we'd set in terms of the uptake rates for people invited to have that cancer screening. So, it stands at about 65...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Bowel Screening Wales offers screening every two years to men and women aged between 60 and 74. From October, that age range was extended to 58 and 59-year-olds. Over the next few years, the age range will extend down to those aged 50, and the test sensitivity will be increased.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. Well, I was given an initial report of the Royal College of Physicians much earlier during the summer. I was very concerned about the situation. I think, to say, in Aneurin Bevan's defence, the visits happened soon after the Grange was opened, when the organisation was still coming to grips with those new environments. I'm pleased to say that the health board has put an...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Like all parts of the NHS in Wales, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board is currently under extreme pressure dealing with record numbers of COVID cases. Despite the current context, they are also continuing to provide essential and key services, and, where possible, addressing the backlog that has built up during the pandemic.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. I'm pleased to say that we are making steady progress in terms of recovery of dental services, but it is difficult, because we're still only up to about 40 to 50 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, which is a very low number. There are good reasons for that, I'm afraid, and that is because, clearly, we need to put in place infection control measures. There needs to be physical...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: We continue to implement a safe, phased re-establishment of NHS dental services in the face of the pandemic. Practices are prioritising care according to need and are treating urgent cases and people who are experiencing problems first. In addition, measures are in place for dental practices providing NHS care to see new patients each week.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. I'm aware that many people who suffer with autoimmune diseases suffer from immense pain as well, and so it is important that we pay attention to this. We have, however, engaged with the medical professional community and they've consistently advised that there is no requirement for lupus centres of excellence. But, what we have done and we're in the process of doing is...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. There are more than 100 autoimmune diseases and the Welsh Government’s support for these conditions is set out in a range of delivery plans, strategies and through the development of quality statements.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks. I think you'll find that what we've been doing is using the measure, where we determine what we do in terms of lockdown or not, of whether the NHS is going to be overwhelmed. That has been our measuring stick. Clearly, in the first wave, when we didn't have access to vaccines, we saw a higher number of those hospitalisations happening. We're not in that situation anymore thanks to our...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much for that. It's very important that people who have an invitation to go for the booster do take the opportunity to do so. I'm pleased to say that the rates are among the highest in the UK in terms of the boosters at present, but we have a long way to go, of course. We're very aware that the situation is very different to the first round because during the first vaccination...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thank you very much. The current rates of COVID-19 across Wales are the highest in the UK. We continue to monitor the situation closely and to take all appropriate measures. Continued public support is vital to the success of our efforts.
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, frankly, I'm not sure if I could work harder in my job than I am at the moment, but I can tell you that we know we have got lessons to learn in relation to COVID and the way that the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our communities. Of course we've got lessons to learn, because this is a novel virus; nobody knew about it. We're still learning about it. There's a new sub-variant of delta,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Thanks very much. You'll be aware that the context of that photo was that it was Boris Johnson sitting alongside our national treasure, David Attenborough, who was alert, awake and paying attention, unlike our Prime Minister, who was asleep. I think it is important, of course, for us to understand that there are times when we need to work very, very closely with the UK Government, and,...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Diolch yn fawr, Peredur. I can assure you that sometimes in recent weeks I've been dying to bury my head in the sand, but that is not the case. In terms of air pollution, certainly, we are very aware—and you'd have heard me responding in the debate yesterday on climate change—of how air pollution is something that we see as being linked to climate change. Therefore, it is important that...
Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan: Well, thanks very much for that question. You are absolutely right that the rates amongst younger people are particularly high. The rates in Gwent, for example, in the 10-19 age group, are around 2,300 per 100,000. I mean, you think about the levels there, and that was in the week ending 17 October. So, clearly, we were quite pleased to see half term coming, because hopefully that's given us...
