We now move to item 8, which is the statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services on coronavirus, COVID-19. The Minister for health.

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. We have already heard the First Minister outline the range of extraordinary measures that four Governments across the UK have taken over recent days—measures that have been necessary to respond to the seriousness of this situation, because this is a public health emergency. My overriding priority remains to reduce both the direct and indirect harm from coronavirus, to protect communities and safeguard vulnerable people, to provide care to patients, to look after the welfare and well-being of our health and social care workforce, and to ensure our health and social care system is as prepared, equipped and as resilient as it can be for the weeks ahead. Ultimately, every step that I take is for the clear purpose of saving as many lives as possible.

Over the last week we have seen a continued increase in the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wales. Sadly, we've had further deaths, and I am truly sorry that any family has lost a loved one and want to extend my sincere condolences to all those who have already been affected.

I understand that people are worried. I am too. I understand that people are looking to protect themselves and their families. I am too. Some people are choosing to stock up on essential items or isolating themselves in more remote areas away from their usual home. I ask people in these uncertain times to remain calm, to be thoughtful, to think of your families, and to think of others too. All of the actions that I am taking with colleagues in the Welsh Government are designed to protect you and your families. I do recognise the temptation to buy extra food or products to care for your loved ones. But there is enough food for everyone if we shop as normal and do not stockpile. Whilst I understand the anxiety that leads to stockpiling, it hurts the most vulnerable and the people with the most limited means. It also hurts people who cannot necessarily get to shops early. As we know, these are often people in our emergency services, in our social care workforce and in our NHS—the very people that we are relying on now more than ever. Similarly, we plan our health services around where people live. It is hugely important for you and your NHS that you go home and stay at home.

The weeks ahead will be challenging and the demands on our health and care system will continue to grow. That is why I took early action to make sure that our health and social care services are as prepared as they can be for what lies ahead.

Our response to this crisis has been to build on our long-term plan for health and social care, to strengthen the structures in place, and to bring forward at pace further measures to strengthen our resilience. For example: 111 and NHS Direct Wales online have been key to the provision of advice; digital solutions are being rolled out rapidly, such as the ability to provide video consultations in primary care and as an alternative to out-patient appointments; the strengthening of regional partnership boards has positioned them to provide integrated health and social care responses to local communities; the establishment of Health Education and Improvement Wales is helping us to address the considerable workforce needs.

I have also taken more difficult decisions so that we are ready to care for larger numbers of very unwell people to make sure that we can save more lives. By temporarily scaling down non-urgent elective activity 10 days ago, health boards have had time to prepare in a more planned and measured way. Across hospital sites, urgent action has been taken to increase critical care capacity and to redeploy and train staff in readiness for the increased demand that we expect to see.

As of yesterday, occupancy of critical care units was about 45 per cent. About 15 per cent of the patients either have suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. We have plans in place to immediately double the number of critical care beds in Wales to just over 300. Extensive work is being undertaken to maximise the number of ventilated beds that can be provided in Wales, including the purchase of over 600 additional ventilators, and we continue to urgently explore further options.

I decided last week to bring forward the opening of parts of the new Grange University Hospital near Cwmbran. This will provide an additional 350 hospital beds by the end of April. Urgent discussions are also under way with the private hospital sector in Wales to secure additional capacity.

I have agreed to a temporary relaxation of contract and monitoring arrangements for primary care practitioners to ensure the safety of patients and staff. Within that, community pharmacies continue to be on the front line, and they'll be even more important in helping to support vulnerable groups of people who have been advised to self-isolate for many weeks ahead.

I know that there has been quite understandable concern about the availability of personal protective equipment, or PPE. I've taken steps to enhance the arrangements in Wales for protecting our front line health and care staff who are caring for suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

I have authorised a significant push of personal protective equipment to the seven health boards, the Welsh ambulance service and Velindre. Whilst anyone who suspects they may have coronavirus should stay at home and should not visit a primary care setting, as a safety measure, PPE has been supplied to all GP clinics, out-of-hours services and pharmacies. Social care has an essential role in our response to COVID-19, and I've authorised PPE to also be released for use by social care providers. Significant deliveries have arrived yesterday, and a further lot are going out today.

I turn now to our workforce. We all recognise that each and every person working to deliver our front-line services will already be under immense pressure, and I do not think there are sufficient words to express my gratitude to our health and social care staff who continue to work tirelessly to care for people in all of our communities.

We know that things will get worse before they get better. That is why we're taking further unprecedented action to support our current workforce. People who have left or retired from health and social care in the last three years are being asked to re-register with their relevant professional bodies or, in social care, to contact their local authority.

We're also exploring ways to harness the skills of students who are keen to contribute. Final year medical students, student nurses and student social workers are all being offered the opportunity to take on temporary fully paid roles to further boost the front line. Those who join will be given a full and proper induction and training.

It is vitally important that we all do everything within our power to stop the spread of coronavirus: to wash our hands regularly, to reduce social contact, to adhere to the advice on social distancing, and to stay at home if you are particularly vulnerable. We are writing out to vulnerable people whose existing health conditions make them susceptible to becoming very unwell with coronavirus. We're asking these people to take even more stringent measures to shield themselves from this virus. We're working with GPs, local authorities and the voluntary sector to make sure that these people can access all the services they need to support them during the difficult weeks ahead.

The situation we face is unprecedented. The weeks ahead will be more challenging than any we have known in 20 years of Welsh Government. Please, look after yourselves and look after each other.

Can I thank you, Minister, particularly? It's been an incredibly stressful time for yourself, your colleagues here, and also your colleagues in other Governments. I think, unusually for an opposition Member, perhaps, you definitely deserve our thanks on this one.

Can I join you also in thanking our front-line staff? But not just those within the health service, but those who support those staff. So, their own families, the garages that provide the MOTs for the nurses who need to drive to work, for example, and for all those who are socially distancing, understanding this is about saving lives—not just their own, but those of people around them as well.

Perhaps it's worth just reinforcing the point that retailers that don't come into the categories that were mentioned a little bit earlier on cannot be obliging their workforce to go in to work when the Government has told them that those workers need to stay at home.

Perhaps I can just ask you a few specific questions, though. I'll start with the beds, if I may, because you said on Sharp End last night that, between the facility in Gwent and some private capacity, you've identified a further 500 bed spaces—it may have gone up a little bit today—and that you were confident that they could be staffed using some of the additional nurses, trainee doctors and so forth that you also mentioned. But in Hywel Dda alone—and I'm picking up a small board on purpose here—they've already calculated that they're going to need an additional 1,600 beds to meet demand peak at May or June. So, I wonder if you can tell us what the calculated shortfall in bed space across Wales for that peak is likely to be? I appreciate you can't get this bang on. Where are you looking to create the extra capacity? Are you confident that you will actually get enough response to your call for trainee nurses, trainee doctors, recently retired doctors and so forth, to staff those beds adequately?

On that in particular, are you looking to the allied healthcare workers as well—your physios, your occupational therapists, podiatrists, and so forth—to help fill some of these skills gaps? And in which case, I appreciate you've said that everyone's going to get an induction and they will be fully trained, but in what exactly? What kind of skills will we be missing and where will we be missing them? Perhaps you can give us an indication as well about how many allied healthcare workers have come forward as well as the trainee doctors, nurses and retired nurses and doctors. Are you in a position to give us any indication on numbers coming forward yet?

Testing: again, you said on Sharp End last night that you're looking to roll out testing beyond the NHS to social care, the police and others—and I appreciate that's not imminent but will be happening—saying that you're significantly increasing capacity. At the moment, the worry is that not all our NHS staff are being tested. So, can you give us an indication of who within the NHS staff is being tested and where they're being tested? Is that that on the site that they're working, or are they being asked to go elsewhere? In which case, where are those sites? Who's doing the testing? Because if we're increasing capacity, we'll need the individuals to do the swabbing, but we'll also need additional lab technicians or other appropriate individuals to do the testing. Perhaps you can tell us where that lab work is being done. Is it still just at the Heath, or are other university settings being asked to give time from their labs over to doing that work?

Then, ventilators. I think you mentioned that there are 600 ventilators in the system. Perhaps you can confirm that; I didn't quite catch it. Again, you said last night that you've got about 75 per cent capacity, or assessed capacity, en route. But again, to quote one of the smaller local health boards, Hywel Dda, they calculate that they need about 200 ventilators. They've managed, between their own stock and getting some from private hospitals nearby and universities—they've got about 80. That's a long way short of 75 per cent, let alone 100 per cent. Can you give some indication about when the new ventilators will be arriving into Wales? You mentioned that the UK as a whole is pooling resources, so it would be quite useful to know where Wales fits into the queue. I know that's a perhaps slightly unfortunate way of phrasing it, but certain parts of Wales will probably be getting these ventilators a little bit later than others, so if you can give us an indication of when some of this kit will be arriving. 

Protective clothing, you've mentioned this. Again, there's only so much available just at the moment, and while I completely understand that you're acquiring more, are you able to give us an indication about how you're prioritising where that goes at the moment? Because you mentioned all front-line staff a little bit earlier, I think, but even within a hospital setting there'll be certain areas that perhaps have greater priorities than others—A&E, for example. How would that compare to, I don't know, cancer wards or maternity or something of that nature? Obviously, elective surgery has been cancelled, so I don't need you to cover that, but within a hospital what's the prioritising looking like? 

And then, finally: recovery. It will happen one day, just to reassure everybody. What have you told the local health boards at this stage about getting together teams to prepare for recovery? Because we're not just talking about moving everything on six months. This will be catch up, big time, won't it? Hopefully, within a year. Are you asking them to get together discrete teams to start working on forward planning? Again, I repeat that question for within the health department within the Welsh Government—although I suppose it applies to all departments, actually—about whether you have albeit a small group of people dedicated to the forward planning on this and how we will recover when the worst of this is over? Thank you very much.

Thank you for the questions. I'll try to deal as quickly as I can with the questions as asked. On bed numbers, the 350 beds being released in the Grange University Hospital, together with around 150 that we expect to have agreement on from the private sector, makes up 500 extra beds. They are really for step-down facilities; the private sector don't have intensive care capacity.

But the point made by the medical director in Hywel Dda today when describing the action that they're taking together with the local authority, converting some local authority buildings, and the offer made by the Scarlets to use some of their premises too, is again about flow to make sure that people can get out into the step-down facility as well. So, we do think we'll be able to have enough people to come and do that. 

Now, the variety of people, including allied health professions, who are engaged in their undergraduate studies are people that we think we can employ in forms of healthcare support roles to get people to work alongside registered professionals. They'll be paid properly for their work; we're not going to ask them to come in and do that for free. I've seen rumours circulating in certain parts of the social media maze suggesting that we're trying to get people to do this for free. That isn't what we're proposing. That obviously means—and the commentary the First Minister gave earlier about the budgetary realignment—a significant additional financial pressure to make sure there is a workforce who can come in to do that, just as the pressure we'll have on having more PPE to come into our service, and the more ventilators that we're going to have to look to purchase individually, but also as part of the UK supply as well. 

So, yes, I do think we're going to be able to find enough staff, but I have to repeat the warning I've given previously that the way that we care for people will be different; not just converting facilities that don't normally look like hospitals into a form of health and care, but equally the way in which staff are able to care for and treat people. The sort of ratios that we're used to seeing and expect to see at normal times—well, we may all have to tolerate a different way of caring for people if we're going to be able to prioritise people with the highest need, but also the numbers of people that can be in recovery and move out of that really high-need setting at an appropriate point in time. 

So, 5,000 letters have already gone out to people who have left the register in the recent past, and a number of those are coming back in. I'll happily give updates to Members when we're in a sensible position to do so about the numbers of people that have agreed or indicated they'd like to return to the register. 

On extra testing, the prioritisation was set out in the chief medical officer's statement last week that accompanied my own on testing. As I said, that significant extra testing that we should be able to achieve within the next week or so should mean that there are more people in the health service and other key workers—. And, as I say, there's been lots of commentary about social care and the police in particular—to make sure that those people can be tested and returned to the workplace if the test provides the right result.

In some of that capacity, as well as Public Health Wales, we are also talking with the university sector, who have been very positive in coming forward with an offer for help, but also, in UK-wide negotiations, I've signed off what should be an agreement we can conclude imminently with a couple of large private sector providers who will be able to give us much greater not just capacity but also robustness and resilience in testing as well. And within that, there are some Wales-only arrangements, but there are also some UK-wide arrangements to actually bolster those testing arrangements. 

That also goes on to your point about ventilators. We have about 600 extra ones. There are more on the way. The UK pool is a genuine UK pool; it's not supposed to be on a, 'One nation first and others will get some if there's anything left over', and that's really important because we're genuinely trying to collaborate and work effectively to address needs right across the United Kingdom. And it's worth reflecting those needs may be different in different nations and they may be different at different points in time. We're seeing the figures in London, for example, so they're likely to have the biggest hit first, but it won't always be the case that London will take priority over other parts of England, let alone the different nations within the UK. So, it's important that that's seen within that context.

On personal protective equipment, it's worth reflecting that there's a requirement for different equipment in different settings, and, again, the chief medical officer has issued some guidance together with Public Health Wales on the use of PPE and what is appropriate PPE for people. There should be further reassurance, though, because I know that it's a concern that Members across the Chamber and outside have reflected on, that they're hearing locally. So, I'll be issuing a further written statement today to set out what we are doing, what we expect to do, and if there are individual concerns and complaints about where people can go with those concerns and complaints to get them rapidly dealt with, because I certainly do not want our front-line staff feeling that either there isn't appropriate PPE or that more is not on its way, because that is exactly what we are trying to achieve, and that includes restocking the supplies that we currently have.

On recovery, the honest truth is that I haven't asked and I don't expect health boards to be having teams of people preparing now for recovery because the effort that we require to prepare for what is coming, I just don't think affords us the luxury of doing that. As we move through, and as we hopefully start to see the reduction in the number of cases, the reduction in the number of people who need the most significant amount of care, we'll then be able to judge how much we then put into the efforts for the recovery and to understanding what the new normal will look like. Because if we do have a significant outbreak, it will affect what we normally talk about in NHS performance, and debate, and our searching and challenging questions of each other over. In every nation of the UK, we'll find that we won't be returning to those times very quickly at all, and there needs to be some honesty within the health service about that, but also with the public, about how long it'll take us to recover and to put ourselves into a way where we will understand how the national health service will continue to serve people in the normal times that we all hope and expect to see ahead of us.

I'd like to thank the Minister very much for his statement and to say how pleased I'm sure we all are to see him back at the front line. I know he was working very hard when he was self-isolating, but it's very good to see him here. It must have been a very worrying time for him and his family and I'm very glad to see him here with us today.

I'd like to associate myself with the remarks that other people have made, both about those, as the Minister said, who have already lost those that they love to this virus, and to the wonderful work that our health and care staff—and I think we must make sure we remember to mention them, too, because apart from anything else, they're doing a very important role in preventing people from becoming so ill that they need to go into hospital. So, I'd like to associate myself very much with remarks other Members have made about the excellent work that our health and care staff are doing.

I want to touch on a couple of issues that the Minister's already mentioned, and perhaps drive down into those a little bit more, and then there are a couple of additional issues that I'd like to raise if the Deputy Presiding Officer will allow.

First of all, just to clarify a little bit further on the ventilators. I'm grateful to the Minister for his answers to Suzy Davies. So, we have 600 ventilators. Are those with us now or are they on order? Does the Minister expect them to be sufficient? I know it's difficult to tell because we don't yet know what the pattern of the disease is going to be. When can we expect to be in a position where he can be confident that we have enough of these to meet the needs that are likely to arise?

If I can refer back again to critical care beds, and, again, he mentioned this in his statement, he mentions that we need to double the number of critical care beds. Could he give us—? I know, Deputy Presiding Officer, these things are a moving feast in a time of crisis, but it would help people, I think, if we can have an idea of when we would expect to have those critical care beds in place.

If I can briefly return to testing. I heard what the First Minister said about the interpretation, the UK or Wales interpretation of World Health Organization advice, but it would help me if I could understand a little more about how that advice differs for Wales and the UK. Because it's a headline, isn't it? The public hear the World Health Organization saying, 'Test, test, test'; we are making decisions to do things differently here. And I think it would be helpful, perhaps not now, but if the Minister wants to write to us, so that we can give our constituents an explanation as to why we are not following World Health Organization advice. We know that it's been very successful, for example, doing that has been very successful in Germany.

And can I just ask the Minister, again—? He's mentioned that we're getting to a position where we'll be able to test they key healthcare workers. May I raise the issue with him again, which I know my colleague Rhun ap Iorwerth and others have raised, about testing for the families of key workers? I'm aware in the region that I represent of situations where you have two parents, who both work in elements of the health service, who are staying at home because there is a concern that their children have some symptoms. So I hope that the Minister will give some consideration—. Obviously, we must start with the staff, I fully accept that, but whether we can look to include—. It's a very unpleasant situation for the family, but it's a terrible waste of the national health service resources if you have two highly qualified professionals having to stay at home when there may be nothing wrong with them, or with their family.

I know that the Minister will share my concern about the physical health and well-being, and the emotional health and well-being, of people who are self-isolating for long periods of time. And the particular point I wish to raise with him—my colleague Leanne Wood has asked me to mention this—is the situation of families who may be vulnerable to domestic abuse. We all know that, sadly, for example, when families are together for long periods of time, these situations can worsen. So I'd like to ask the Minister today if he can have some further discussions with the Deputy Minister who has direct responsibility for these matters, to ensure that we are working constructively with the sector to put in place measures. It's been put to me, for example, by some volunteers in the sector that we could use empty bed and breakfasts, we could use empty hostels for emergency accommodation for people fleeing domestic abuse. Because we have to accept—and we have seen, sadly, in other countries that those situations have escalated.

I was very grateful for what the Minister said about community pharmacy. He will be aware that some staff on the front line are having some pretty awful experiences, with people—as the First Minister said—becoming impatient, becoming aggressive. And he mentions that we need to fully respect the community pharmacist's role. I wonder what his view would be about—and this is a difficult judgment call—but it's been put to me by community pharmacists that they are struggling a bit with deliveries, and that if people do have a healthy member of their family who can go out and collect, they would like people to be advised to do that. But I do understand that the Minister and the rest of us may have concerns about further transmission in that regard, but it would be useful to know what the Minister's advice would be in those circumstances.

I had some questions to ask about personal protective equipment. The Minister has offered us a written statement, and I won't delay the Chamber by asking those in any detail, but I do hope that that statement will address the distribution issues. I have had care home owners saying to me that the protective equipment is getting to Cardiff and it's getting to Swansea, but it's not getting into the rural areas, and it's not getting into the Valleys, particularly when it comes to the care sector rather than the health sector. This may be people raising concerns in a very fast-moving situation, as the Minister has mentioned, and that may have already been addressed, and I very much hope he can reassure us.

The First Minister, in responding to questions, mentioned some of the skills that people who've worked in hospitality will have, in terms of cleanliness, providing food, providing basic support. I wonder if the Minister has had discussions with the local health boards and with care providers to see what use they may be able to make of those skills, and indeed of some hospitality settings for people when they are in a step-down phase, where what they basically need is care and support—where they don't need acute medical support. And I'm grateful to him for mentioning Parc y Scarlets. We were very pleased that they've been so prepared to work with the local health board and the local authority. And he also mentions in his statement discussions with private hospital settings. And I wonder if we can have some guidance about when those might be concluded, because obviously this is an urgent situation.

Two brief, final points, one that the Minister may regard as slightly left field. I've been contacted by osteopaths in my region, who obviously will not be providing treatment to their private clients. We know that osteopathy is a treatment. We don't provide it on the national health service, but it is a treatment that has got a strong scientific base. Some of those osteopaths were raising with me whether they may be able to volunteer perhaps to come into hospitals to provide support for staff. They say that a lot of their private clients are actually NHS staff who have problems as a result of lifting. So, I'd just like to put that thought into the Minister's mix to see if there may be other groups of people who work in areas of care that are not in the public sector, but who may have skills that they can offer at this time.

And, finally, with regard to third sector organisations, I hope the Minister will agree with me that some of our third sector organisations are vital, both in terms of the care that they provide and the advice and support that they can provide. He will have seen the cancer charities, for example, coming together. I wonder what reassurances the Minister can offer that sector that their long-term future will be protected. I heard what Paul Davies had to say to the First Minister earlier about needing to fund front-line services at this time, but of course we will need those organisations when this crisis is over, and if we find ourselves in a situation—. And, of course, the Welsh Government has to change its budget priorities, nobody would doubt that for a moment, but if we find ourselves in the situation when the recovery comes and we've lost some of those key third sector organisations, because their funding isn't sustainable, I hope the Minister would agree with me that we would then be having to rebuild that network.

So, again, I'm very grateful to the Minister for his statement. Very pleased to see him here today, and I hope he can respond to some of the specific points that I've made.

Thank you for the comments and the good wishes. In terms of ventilators, the 600 number includes provision we have and 200-odd that are on their way. In terms of whether the amount that we think we'll be able to procure will be enough, well that rather depends on the course of the outbreak. And I think it's really important in the honesty that we want to provide with each other that we don't provide figures to give a level of false assurance. I think it would be wrong to try and set an arbitrary time frame for this to be over or indeed to set an upper ceiling on the number of people that will be seriously affected. We will need to continue to understand the challenge and to try to rise to the challenge that affects us and the whole country. So, we will need to procure more, and we'll know what's enough as we get closer to the event. But no Member here or member of the public should take any misunderstanding that there is anything other than a significant effort between all four Governments to make sure that our health and care services are properly equipped to deal with the challenge. 

In terms of the doubling of critical care beds, my understanding is that the work to do that will be done imminently. And I'm sure that Members will have seen, for example, the excellent feature that Channel 4 News did on the work across the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to show the work that they have done to already double their critical care facilities on a range of their sites, and that's the work that they were able to do because elective activity was paused. And if we'd still had another week of elective activity, it wouldn't just have been the people coming in in that week, it would have been the fact that they'd been in a hospital bed recovering for a period of time afterwards in a number of cases, and our staff would not have been able to do that preparation work. So, I'm pleased that the step to pause that activity has meant that we are now much better prepared for what we know is coming. 

And in terms of knowing what's coming, I recognise they are entirely legitimate questions from Members across the spectrum to ask, because there are Labour Members in this place and others who have asked about the difference between the headline advice from the World Health Organization on testing and what we're doing here. And the advice that we directly have from our chief scientific adviser on health and from our chief medical officer, who works with his colleagues in the other three UK nations, is about how we deploy the resource that we currently have. Because if I said that our ambition is to deliver wide-scale community testing now, actually we don't have the capacity to do that, and if I tried to set out a wholly unachievable objective, we wouldn't be using the resource that we have in a way that was sensible or effective, and that's why the testing is targeted as it is. But it's why, as I've said, from the weekend and forward, as we expand our testing capability, we'll be able to test more groups of people and we'll be able to test a much wider group of people thereafter.

So, the testing is a tool to help us understand what's happening with the outbreak. It's also a tool to help us to treat people and crucially to get staff back to work, because your point about families and testing is important, because the objective for having those staff in those groups is to release them to go back to work, and that must mean that you've got to test enough people within the family unit to make sure you can have that assurance for them to return. But, of course, testing isn't the only issue. We wouldn't be here today in this significantly reduced form with not just the guidance, but the requirements on social distancing, if we thought that testing was the only measure. We wouldn't be talking about ventilators and about PPE. So, it's a wide range of different measures that we have to deploy. I really do wish there was a single answer to resolve this but there is not.

And on domestic violence and abuse, I recognise the concern the Member has raised. They've been a regular feature in our conversations in Government, to make sure that people are not trapped in an abusive relationship, in an abusive household, and to make sure that people are still supported.

On community pharmacy, I've announced a range of measures to try to support community pharmacies, both the changes to hours that I announced on the weekend, the comments I've made about PPE delivery as well, but also the point that I'll be reiterating again later today, that if people require the delivery of their medication because they have to self-isolate, for most people it is possible for a trusted person to be able to undertake that delivery for them—it doesn't mean that they themselves then need to go into the home to do that. For example, I went to do my mother's shopping on the weekend. I saw her on Mother's Day, but I saw her after I'd left her shopping at her back door and I talked to her through a closed kitchen window. Now, I'm not a saint—my sister-in-law normally does my mum's shopping—but it is possible to go and do things that mean that that person doesn't need to go out, and, equally, that you don't have to call on delivery services. For some people, though, they won't have people in that position and they will then need to rely on a delivery service from community pharmacy. So, there are significant challenges ahead for our community services, for our community pharmacy network.

On PPE in care settings, just to say I've covered a bit in my statement, and there'll be more today, but it's really important, in the difficult times that we face, that we don't collapse into thinking that something is better in another part of the country, because they got it first and they shouldn't. I've spoken to the Welsh Local Government Association, and to their lead spokespeople on social care, and all social care cabinet members at the start of this particular episode. And when I spoke at the start of this week, they were concerned about PPE going out into social care, and it was across the whole country. It wasn't as if Cardiff thought everything was wonderful, thank you very much—they were all concerned to make sure that deliveries were on their way and would be provided. So, no one part of the country is being advantaged to the disadvantage of another, and, hopefully, by the end of today, there'll be adequate supplies within social care settings.

And on the private sector agreement, the 350 extra beds, I understand that that's imminent, and we should then be able to make use of that capacity. I'm not sure about the position of osteopathy services. I'm sure the chief medical officer will have a view, and medical directors as well about how useful that'll be for our staff.

And on the third sector—not just in the future, but the third sector are really important for us now. The work that we are having to do to protect vulnerable people means that local authorities and the third sector need to collaborate and work with each other. The networks of volunteers that they are helping to co-ordinate are hugely important to actually practically support very large numbers of people that we've advised to isolate, and that's difficult. So, they'll be important in the future, yes, but actually they're crucially important in our effort to fight COVID-19 in the here and now.

The first thing, like many others here, that I want to do today is to thank all the staff that are turning up right across the NHS, right across the care sector and right across the delivery agencies to get things where we need them and when we need them at this critical time. And I think it is really important that those people understand, if they don't already, that we all value them as well. It is in the light of providing both information and goods that I will start to ask some of my questions.

The first question that probably most of us have been frequently asked is where to go for good advice. We've seen plenty of experts popping up on the internet telling people things that are quite dangerous, quite frankly, because the advice is fundamentally wrong at this time. So, I think it's about reiterating where to go for good advice—reliable, dependable advice—and putting that out there.

In terms of supplies, again, if you try to buy something simple like paracetamol, which I did yesterday, you might be asked to pay £3 for it. That isn't really acceptable. And, again, it's about getting those supplies that people will need for their medical care on a day-to-day basis into those community pharmacies that we will all depend on, but also asking supermarkets that do supply to actually put a brake on, which some of them are doing, what people are buying.

I've also had information, and it's fairly evident if you look at supermarkets, about baby formula disappearing off the shelves. I mean, this is critical. Babies need to be fed, and yet I've heard stories about people being baby formula as a means to putting dry milk in their teas and coffee. That is an appalling state of situation. So, again, it's a plea, really, to people to just think that the word 'baby' and 'formula' goes together for a very, very good reason.

I would ask, again, about utility payments. I know it might seem odd that I'm asking you, but if people can't feed themselves and they can't keep themselves warm, they will quickly become quite ill. Some of those people who are on utility pre-paid meters are the most vulnerable in the very first case. And I'll ask again—while I'm talking about people having the right fuel—in my area particularly, lots people are off gas, they rely on oil supplies, they rely on liquefied petroleum gas. It's more expensive. Those people tend to be more isolated by virtue of where they live and they tend to be more elderly in some cases. I don't know whether you've had any conversations to help with those supplies, but if we take oil, for example, you have to generally buy that in bulk, and that is a huge cost for people at a time when their money might be at the barest minimum. So, again, it's about keeping families being able to live effectively by being able to heat their homes and also feed themselves.

I have to ask about cross-border health working, particularly in Powys. I know others will ask about other areas. I'd certainly like an update—I've been approached by many people living in the Powys area—about how that is working for them and how confident we are that those people in Powys who need healthcare will be able to access it.

Finally, I want to pay tribute to you for your daily updates. They have been clear. But I also want to thank people for their co-operation, because unless we get the vast majority of people co-operating with those stringent restrictions that we are asking them to place on themselves, we, quite frankly, will never be able to cope with this virus. I just hope that people will carry on in that way, because as somebody said earlier, this is not a holiday. This is probably a time where those of us who come through it—and I hope all of us can—will look back and wonder about this period of time and people's behaviour as well. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for the constant questions. Again, I want to reiterate Joyce's point about our staff and, of course, Joyce Watson has Members in her own family who are providing a health and care service, and will understand the commitment they need to provide and the fact that our staff know that they put in themselves in harm's way. They know that in treating people who are ill with a condition that is spreading fairly rapidly through the UK population, there's a real challenge for them as well. They continue to do so, but they understandably want the tools to be able to do their job, and they want the support of the public to be able to do their job as well.

Your point about getting information from appropriate sources is important, so that people don't unnecessarily burden our health and care services while being worried or taking inappropriate action because they've been looking at odd parts of the internet or social media-generated issues. So, the Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, statements by the chief medical officer—they are trusted sources of advice for people to learn what is happening in Wales and where to go for advice and support.

When it comes to co-ordinating local support, local authorities will act as the hub in a co-ordinating role to make sure that support and advice are given, and they will, of course, be working with the third sector. As I've indicated and as the First Minister indicated, we're having conversations with the army about their potential support to provide in the effort, because there is a significant number of vulnerable people in Wales who will need to be supported. 

On your point about profiteering, it's a point well made. Whether it's paracetamol, Calpol or other normal goods, it is appalling to see some people take significant commercial advantage, often of the most vulnerable people by significantly raising prices when there is no supply issue, there is simply a commercial opportunity. Just as today, Sports Direct have been quickly put back in their box, it's important other people call out that behaviour. I think that people that undertake that now to make a fast profit may want to reflect that most members of the public have a pretty long memory when it comes to them being taken advantage of in such a transparent way.

On your point about restrictions on goods, and the point you make about baby food is well made, there's just no need to stock up for six months' supply, and what that does for people who are reliant on that, and don't have the means to go out and purchase huge amounts in advance—. Supermarkets themselves are already taking voluntary measures to restrict the supply and the sale of a range of items. One of the things that Governments across the UK have agreed is to relax some of the normal competition rules that mean that supermarkets can't talk to each other to agree on what to do. There are a range of areas where, actually, it's sensible for the supermarkets to co-ordinate what they're doing, and, actually, we're looking for a more consistent position on the voluntary restriction policed by supermarkets on a number of items, but if not, as the First Minister indicated, we may have to step in and use powers that we think we have available to us. But I'd much rather see a method of control that doesn't involve further legal action from the Government and, equally, I'd much rather see a level of public behaviour and co-operation that means that no action at all is required.

On utility payments, that's a point the Welsh Government has made and is well aware of in terms of how utility companies behave. Most of the larger ones are behaving in a relatively decent way. Your point about people who are off-grid for fuel and power is one that I'll take up with ministerial colleagues, but I know it's a real issue and exactly as you describe. Often, these are people who are more isolated physically and often, but not always, people who are older, potentially in at-risk categories as well.

On cross-border health and care, the normal flow should apply. So, if your normal secondary healthcare is over the English border, then that's where your provision should be, should you need intensive care, for the sake of argument, just as if the flow is in the other direction. It is to no-one's benefit to either have a 'fortress Wales' approach, or indeed a 'fortress England' approach where cross-border flows are deliberately cut off in a way that is not about providing the right sort of service that the national health service in every one of the four nations should do for people with real need.

On your point about public co-operation, I agree that's key, because we've only taken the significant measures that we have done within the last 24 hours because most members of the public were co-operating in following the advice and the guidance, but not enough people were. So, we've had to step in to take extraordinary measures that will be backed up by police powers within this week, and there are other measures that we could take, but I would much rather be in a position where Governments don't need to take further restrictive legal action and that the public understand that their behaviour will be key to how coronavirus spreads and is ultimately turned back, and that, ultimately, they're not doing it to make the life of the Government any easier, they're doing it for themselves and their own communities, and those people they probably will never get to meet otherwise.

Thank you for your statement, Minister, and it is good to see you back here with us and to hear your family are safe and well. Again, I also send on behalf of my party and myself condolences to all those who've lost loved ones through this disease.

I'd like to thank our wonderful NHS staff and all those concerned who are working around the clock and helping to limit the spread of this dreadful disease. We as individuals must do all that we can, because we all have a part to play in this. Minister, you have the continuing support of myself and my party during this difficult time, and I have just a few questions I'd like to ask.

I have seen reports that locum GPs are turning down shifts due to lack of sickness cover and death-in-service benefits. Around half of locums who responded to a National Association of Sessional GPs survey said that they were making themselves less available during the current pandemic; three quarters of those taking part in the survey are in the at-risk category because they are either over 70 or have had underlying health conditions themselves. Minister, the current pandemic means that locums are more important than ever. Other health problems don't go away because we're dealing with a deadly virus outbreak. What assurances can the Welsh Government give to locum GPs, and in fact all GPs working in Wales, that they will be looked after during this crisis, and will you ensure that locum GPs receive death-in-service benefits and sickness pay?

Minister, over half of the coronavirus cases in Wales have been in the Aneurin Bevan health board. Has Public Health Wales looked at the reasons this health board has significantly higher cases than any other LHB? What extra measures are being provided to the health board and local authorities in the region to cope with a caseload nearly three times higher than the next highest LHB, and 14 times higher than the health board with the largest population, Betsi Cadwaladr?

I was also concerned to receive an e-mail this morning from a public sector prison officer who has allegedly been told that, although he has had a quadruple heart bypass and is diabetic, he is not in the vulnerable category, and that they're also intent on keeping the gymnasium open in the prison. I just wonder if we could give stronger guidelines if necessary to the prison service, and also provide, in any way that we can, through maybe the army, assistance for the sustainability of the prisons.

Minister, thankfully, the vast majority of the over-70s are following Government advice and socially isolating themselves. However, many elderly people are being forced to leave the safety of home to pay bills, as they don't have traditional bank accounts or online banking. As this age group is the most at-risk category, what discussions have you had with colleagues, with the Welsh and UK Governments, about ways to ensure that our most vulnerable constituents can ride out this pandemic in their safety of their homes?

I welcome the actions of Cardiff council to open up free parking to doctors and nurses working at the health board. Minister, is your Government working with other local authorities across Wales to ensure that there is sufficient free parking for NHS staff during the course of this pandemic? Exploitations, again—as Joyce Watson has previously mentioned—of goods: is that a matter for trading standards, Minister? Because exploitation of prices at this time is a remarkably low thing to pull.

Finally, Minister, I have had a number of concerns raised with me about the availability of supplies to the social care sector—concerns not just about PPE, which, hopefully, are being resolved, but also about shortages of other essential items, such as incontinence pads. Minister, what steps are the Welsh Government taking to ensure care homes across Wales receive adequate stocks of essential items?

Minister, I would like to put on record my thanks to your officials who are working around the clock to ensure the smooth running of health and social care. These are trying times for all of us, but I have no doubt that we will make it through and be stronger for it. But now is a time for reflection, to help others in the limited ways that we can. It is not a time for selfishness and greed, but a time to understand the needs of others, and to try, if we can, to make the burden less for those less fortunate than ourselves. Keep safe, everybody. Thank you.

Thank you for the comments and questions. In terms of your opening about not just locums, but more generally about staff who may be in at-risk categories, it was one of the concerns of the British Medical Association about asking people to return to practice: they may be people in the most at-risk categories, either in age or underlying health condition categories. But they may be able to undertake a range of work remotely. That's why the decision that I took to roll out the opportunity for video consultations to take place—they don't need to undertake person-to-person contact, they can still be providing advice remotely. So, it's about how we make the best use of the resources we have in terms of the people across the system. You'll notice the Bill also gives an extension in the provision for indemnity to make sure that people can return to work and not worry about the risk to them if things go wrong.

In terms of your point about death in service—I think this is a particular niche point, more operational than I would expect, but my own understanding, my own recollection, is that, generally, that tends to be a benefit from a pension scheme, and locums choose not to opt in to the pension scheme. So, I wouldn't want to try and give an answer to that. I'd have to go away and ask for advice about that, about how much of a barrier that is, and whether, actually, there are other things we could do to encourage more locums to continue to practice in a way that is safe for them and patients.

In terms of Gwent, I don’t expect the current incidence that does show a higher incidence in Gwent to be the final position. I do think that, when you look at the fact there is community circulation of coronavirus taking place in significant parts of Wales, you'll see figures in other parts of Wales, and indeed in other parts of the UK, continue to rise.

I am, though, concerned about the potential impact of coronavirus on our least well-off communities. Wales, as a nation, compared to England, in health terms is older, poorer and sicker. So, the risk, therefore, is an obvious one. Now, that will overlay in different parts of Wales differently, just as it will do in England, where they have communities that are much like the ones we have here in Wales as well.

So, that's a real concern, but I don't think the percentage that we currently see in regard to Gwent and the rest of the country will stay as it is now. Our task is to make sure that each part of the country is properly supported, and we don't want to see any one part overwhelmed at all.

In terms of your points about prisons, as you know, prisons aren't devolved, and I'm not in a position to suddenly take on new responsibilities at this point in time to try to deal with issues in prisons. But one of the points that I've made in the regular COBRA meetings that I've attended with the First Minister, and indeed the COBRA sub-groups, has been the point that many of the non-devolved functions have a direct impact. For the sake of argument, if the UK Government decided to undertake an early-release programme, to release pressure from prisoners who are in low-risk categories, well a number of those prisoners have significant underlying health conditions, and they could well be people who would automatically be vulnerable and would need significant support. We would need to know that in advance to provide them with the support that they would need. We also have in Usk a number of older prisoners in any event, and some of those will be old enough to be in the at-risk category in terms of being over 70. So, any choices made around the prison estate, around choices about what happens with prisons that early release or otherwise, have a direct impact on devolved services.

And, on your point about the over-70s, that assistance is being co-ordinated and led, as I said, with local government, and I really am grateful for the work of both Councillor Andrew Morgan, the leader of the WLGA, but also Councillor Huw David, who is the lead spokesperson on health and social care. They've been open and willing to help and support, as indeed have all their colleagues across the political spectrum within local government.

We need to reiterate the example that it's—the reason why we're asking people to stay at home is to help protect them. So, it isn't that we think that people over 70 have coronavirus and give it to other people—it's actually because they're more vulnerable and more likely to suffer real harm. That's why we've given the advice that we have done, and the Government is leading by example—not just that we've all agreed as a whole Senedd to have a reduced session today, but you will know that, once that advice was given, members of the Government who fall in that bracket have worked from home since then. You have not seen them in Chamber, they're not coming into Welsh Government buildings to undertake work, they're having to work remotely, and it's really important that we don’t just ask other people to follow that example, but we do it ourselves as well.

On free parking, we're, of course, fortunate to have free parking across our hospital estates here in Wales, but I am pleased that Cardiff council made additional parking available to NHS staff to ensure that they're able to get to work, and the usual park-and-ride arrangements that may have prevented them getting to work as promptly as possible have been altered specifically for NHS workers, but, of course, it is a fact that, as there are less people moving around, traffic flows are very different and much quicker, as I have found on a number of occasions in the last couple of weeks.

And, on your point about care home supplies, there's a regular conversation between officials and both local government and also the largest organisation of the independent sector providers about how stocks are procured and what that means for them, so I'm confident that there is a constructive relationship and there is a route for people to raise concerns if they have them.

Thank you. Finally, Mick Antoniw.

Minister, firstly, thank you for all the detailed answers and all the regular advice notes and so on, which are of considerable assistance to, I think, all of us who are fielding many, many questions from members of the community at this particularly difficult time. And it is a difficult and very anxious time, so I would particularly like to put on record, I think, my praise and commendation for the staff at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, who, throughout this period, through music and through dance, have produced videos, which have almost gone viral, communicating safety messages. Not only does it raise the morale of the staff in the hospital, I think it is also the most excellent way of actually communicating those safety messages, and, if people haven't seen them, I think they ought to perhaps have a look and share them, because they really are very, very impressive—and impressive that the staff have managed to take their own time in the hospitals to actually produce these and to explain to the public what they are doing.

Can I raise just a couple of short questions? First of all—and it is in respect of testing, because I have had GPs in the Cwm Taf area who've raised the issue of family members with coughs and so on, which has resulted in some key staff having to stay home, and that there have been difficulties in actually accessing the testing, that the helpline number has been unavailable and so on. I'm just wondering what monitoring is taking place to ensure that those particular problems that have arisen have now been resolved, because they can result in significant delays in getting back to work for some key medical staff.

And the second point is in respect of volunteering. As we saw in the floods, certainly in the Rhondda Cynon Taf area, there were many, many people who came to the fore to help their neighbours and their fellow people, and what has been very, very important now, I think, is that we have a lot of people coming forward for volunteering. Rhondda Cynon Taf has, of course, set up a mechanism for the registration of volunteers, because volunteering in itself can be a hazard because of the nature of coronavirus, so responsible volunteering, it seems to me, is the absolute key. And because this may overlap into areas of social care and so on, I'm just wondering what steps are being done to roll out best practice that is being shown in certain council areas across Wales, and ensuring that there is proper guidance for safe volunteering.

Thank you. I'll start on the last one, about responsible volunteering. We've seen a large outpouring of people who are prepared to help organising activity within their own community. I think that the organising role of local authorities is hugely important in this, and certainly through RCT's, but other councils', experience with flooding, about the effort that they themselves have instituted, provides a good base to do that now for an even more extended period of time. But we are looking to learn about what is working, and, seeing a former local government Minister in the Chamber, it is fair to say that there are times when people aren't as keen to learn and adopt what works in another part of Wales, but are much happier to see it distinguished and do their own thing. This is a time for those things to be put to one side, to understand what works well and to be able to share it and adopt it rapidly in every part of the country where there is a benefit—not just in local government; that also has applied at various points in time in the health service as well, where some health boards have not always readily adopted good practice in other parts of the service. There's no time for that, and there'll be no patience for that now. And, as I say, I do think that, right across the political spectrum of local government, there's been a real coming together and it's been a very impressive part of the response.

On testing, the capacity is already increasing and, as I've indicated in my statement last week, the press briefing on the weekend, and earlier in my statement today, the significant increase in testing that is coming in the very near future allows us to test more people. And the points you make about general practitioners and their families—it's part of that wider point already about the more capacity we have, the more speed we'll have to test more people to get them back into the workplace. But there are already NHS staff who are being tested because they're self-isolating, and there will be people who are returning because they've already had that testing rolled out to them in accordance with the guidance that the chief medical officer issued towards the end of last week.  

Finally, on the uplifting point you mentioned about the work of staff in the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, and not just across Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board but right across the health service. By chance, I saw a link to nurses in Morriston this morning singing 'I'll Be There'. Now, in normal times with a microphone and an opportunity to sing a song like that, you'd have trouble peeling me away—[Interruption.] These are extraordinary times, but perhaps not that extraordinary. [Laughter.] Actually, to see what the health service staff are doing for themselves, for their own morale and well-being, but also to understand that there's an impact there for their colleagues and the wider public too, really does reinforce how incredibly fortunate we are to have the commitment and the compassion of our NHS and wider workforce. As I said earlier, we will need them now more than ever.  

Thank you very much, health Minister.