Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:26 pm on 17 March 2020.
So, what exactly are the guidelines of the Government for schools that are going to be finding themselves in the situation where there is a large percentage of staff—nearly half of the staff, in this case—finding themselves in the vulnerable category? And what is the Government saying to those schools when they find themselves in that situation? And what are the guidelines for safe staffing levels? Children, tomorrow, who would be having free school meals at school, what’s going to happen to them now?
I know you said earlier that you’re discussing the possibilities about what to do, and I’m sure that in Ruthin they will have their preparations, but the problem is a live problem now, isn’t it, and you understand now why we were asking these questions during the business statement and why we need to have information and clarity about the situation.
What are the guidelines for parents who are working in the NHS and their children now being at home? What are those workers supposed to do? Should they continue going to work or are they going to have to improvise some arrangements now so that children can be looked after, because we need them in the workplace? So, a great many questions. I intended to ask them tomorrow of the education Minister, but I’m asking them of you now, because you're First Minister, if we could have clarity on that.
Turning to the other questions, Rhun ap Iorwerth was going to make a contribution here and he was going to ask you about the ventilators. It’s extremely important—that's the message that I’m getting from Ysbyty Gwynedd, in my area. We need plenty of ventilators in our hospitals, and, of course, we need the staff also who understand how these ventilators work. What are your arrangements? What practical steps are you working on in order to ensure that there are enough ventilators that are going to be available for the wards that need them? We’re aware that one business in Wales is starting to manufacture ventilators, or at least they have found a way to do that quickly, and I’d be happy enough to pass those details on to you. That kind of thing is to be welcomed, of course.
And the final question is about testing. I do return to this, the issue of testing. It’s vital. I do know that there is perhaps a feeling that front-line staff in hospitals shouldn’t be out in these testing centres, and that they should be in the hospitals making preparations. I do understand that, and that it’s a staff shortage that driving this, the end of the day, which is another question. But without having this information about how many people are affected by this virus, how are we going to know how the growth is developing, or emerging?
I understand that in Gwynedd, for example, Bryn y Neuadd Hospital was open for these tests at the start of this period—well, last week, to tell you the truth. But the information now is that that isn’t being used any more—Ysbyty Alltwen the same.
Is there anyone in my area being tested at present? The maps show Gwynedd as an area where there is no coronavirus at present. I don’t know whether that’s changed in the last couple of hours, but it shows that there are no people affected. But, surely—surely—there are people who are being affected, and what that means is that people from the urban areas are looking at the map and thinking, ‘Well, Gwynedd is clean; there’s nothing in Gwynedd. We’ll go over there.’ And there are anecdotes that that is happening. But, of course, to return to the testing issue, if we don’t know the level of this problem, we don’t know whether this is contributing to the problem or is this something we need to be thinking about. It is a problem that will happen in other parts of the UK as well, not just in Wales, and we need to look at that.
And just a final point, in terms of the testing, you have said that you are going to make some kind of pyramid of priorities, and I’m looking forward to seeing that. Healthcare workers, you’ve said, but their families as well. Of course, if there is a child showing the symptoms and you work in the health sector, you need to know whether you should continue to go to your workplace. So, I understand why you’re restricting the numbers that you’re going to test, but I am asking for a better explanation about how you’re going to be measuring the growth that is going to happen, unfortunately. Thank you.