3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:29 pm on 29 April 2020.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 3:29, 29 April 2020

I expect to be able to provide that within a fairly brief timescale. It's why, I think, having a testing target that isn't linked in to what we actually want to achieve doesn't actually make any sense. It's also the point that I made previously about having a testing target in isolation, where we're not in control of all the elements of it. The commitment to expand our testing capacity has not gone away. I'm certainly not trying to suggest to anyone, either here or any member of the public, that we're not concerned about expanding our testing capacity, because, as I have said repeatedly, we will need that in place for exactly the test-and-trace element of what recovery looks like. Because you are right to point to Germany, about the increasing rate of coronavirus. It's the lockdown and social distancing that have meant that we've not seen a further spread of coronavirus. That's what's meant that our hospital system has not been overwhelmed; that's why we don't have our field hospital capacity full. But it also reinforces why we shouldn't run the NHS hot and want to run it full and then go out of lockdown, because Germany is a really good example of that, about the challenges that you can have. As people mix more, then coronavirus will continue to be an issue.

So, I want to say more about that when there's a plan to talk to you about, rather than the outline conversations that we've had, but if you bear with us and our system, then we'll have much more detail to provide. And, again, I recognise that when that's available, there will be understandable scrutiny, not just from the press and the public, but I expect to be able to answer those questions in front of Members as well.