In addition to working jointly with Northern Ireland, Scotland and England, we are actively mobilising industry in Wales to supplement back to those UK-wide supply routes through innovation and new manufacturing.

As you know, the First Minister recently called on Welsh businesses and manufacturers to help produce a Welsh supply of PPE to support our front-line health and social care staff. The Life Sciences Hub Wales is working with Welsh industry to develop, refine and deliver those ideas. And our approach intends to maximise all the opportunities that are available to us to recognise the scale of demand and the very challenging global market that we are operating and competing within. 

We have, though, had a tremendous response from Welsh companies so far. In North Wales, we have Brodwaith in Anglesey, who are making 2,000 scrubs a months. We also have Worksafe Workwear in Ruthin, who are producing over 2,000 scrubs a month.  One of those companies used to make pyjamas and the other used to make bags. They are good examples of how companies have adapted their processes in a matter of weeks to produce the equipment that we need—in this case, scrubs. 

We also have high-profile examples of the Royal Mint and the Rototherm Group, who are making face visors and shields that are being worn by healthcare staff. And the gin distillery In The Welsh Wind is making WHO-approved hand sanitiser. I really have been struck by the level of innovation and support that has come from all parts of Wales.

The demand for PPE will continue to be well above normal for the foreseeable future. The actions that we're taking in Wales are all directed at ensuring the supply of PPE to our staff who need it to continue to work and to care for the public safely. It is of course important that the guidelines on PPE are followed properly and that PPE, of course, is used in accordance with that guidance by the staff who need it.

On testing—I know there have been comments in the First Minister's statement and in questions—on 15 April, I commissioned a rapid review that focused on the key elements of our plan for testing critical workers. That included our testing capacity, access to testing, and the testing referral and results process. Following the review, I can confirm that our current testing capacity is now 1,800 tests a day. I have made £50 million of Welsh Government funding available to bring in further equipment, chemical reagents and other activity to increase our testing capacity. We do now have mass drive-in testing centres in operation in Cardiff and Newport and new testing infrastructure is planned for north and south Wales to be in place shortly—within the next fortnight, as I understand it today—to boost the existing testing arrangements already in place. We're piloting a web-based booking platform this week, and I've removed the ceiling on referrals per local authority, and I've also published a new critical worker policy that extends the number of groups that can now be tested. We're now testing all symptomatic care home residents and all care home residents who are returning from hospital. All symptomatic care home workers themselves can now also be referred for testing.

I remain confident, following discussions with our chief scientific adviser on health, that our plan sets out the right approach to ensure we are delivering the right testing, when and where it is needed, both in the short and the longer terms. So, I'm confident at this point in time that we're testing the right people.

On a different subject, I do understand that it's important that we recognise and then try to understand why, across the UK, we're seeing a disproportionate number of people from black, asian and minority ethnic community backgrounds who have become critically ill as a result of COVID-19.

Yesterday, I confirmed that we in Wales would be contributing to the review that is being led by Public Health England to explore the role of pre-existing medical conditions. Welsh Government officials will mobilise efforts to establish whether there are any identifiable factors that could help to inform decisions on whether we need to give different public advice regarding comorbidities, isolation, shielding and personal protective equipment in relation to people from black, asian and minority ethnic community backgrounds. We will be working with representatives from our black, asian and minority ethnic communities here in Wales to help shape that work going forward.

Now, on children’s social care and safeguarding, I know there are major concerns not just for the Welsh Government, but for other key stakeholders. We understand that services are under pressure, and, at the same time, we know that the emergency is placing a great strain on all those involved in the lives of vulnerable children. To support local authority social services departments and partners in addressing those challenges, I'm pleased to confirm that the Welsh Government has now published operational guidance for children’s social services. That's been developed through close working with stakeholders and it sets out measures that should be put in place to minimise the impact of the pandemic; to help local authorities and their partners to continue to provide effective support to vulnerable, at-risk and care-experienced children, whilst maintaining their statutory duties.

Safeguarding remains everyone’s responsibility. I am concerned about the reduction in referrals and reports of concern for adults and children at risk of harm, abuse or neglect during the coronavirus outbreak. So, I want to remind everyone that social services departments are operating as normal and are able to respond to concerns that people have. So, if you feel that anyone, whether an adult or a child, may be at risk of abuse, harm or neglect, you can report that by dialling 101 or contacting the local authority social services department. Help is available through the Live Fear Free helpline for anyone who has concerns regarding anyone who may be experiencing domestic abuse or sexual violence.

And, finally, I ask the public not to be complacent. We have significantly increased NHS capacity and taken extraordinary steps to change the way that we live our lives. That has undoubtedly stopped a much wider and more aggressive spread of coronavirus here in Wales. The action that we are all taking is saving lives. There is, however, much more for us all to do for some time to come.