2. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 11:54 am on 10 June 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 11:54, 10 June 2020

Llywydd, can I thank Lynne Neagle for that important question, in a very complex and challenging area? The visits that we've been able to talk about in care homes, and set out in Mr Heaney's letter, require social distancing to be maintained. And as Lynne Neagle will know, that can be particularly difficult to explain to people, who, as she said, live in the moment and where physical contact is often very much part of the way in which they gain comfort from people who come to see them. And yet we know that that physical contact could pose such a significant risk to them and then to other people living in that same setting.

So, these are very complex matters. The ONS figures are very concerning and we will certainly be trying to make sense of them here in Wales. In doing so, we will rely, I'm sure, on the advice of our dementia oversight of implementation and impact group, which comprises of people looking after people with dementia—the lived experience of that—the Alzheimer's Society, and our own health and social care organisations. It's due to meet in the next couple of weeks. It will be looking at that report, at what the Alzheimer's Society itself has said, as well as the ONS, and will be giving us further advice. And as we are able to use that advice to advise others, then I will certainly make sure that that is properly communicated to Assembly Members.