Financial Support for Businesses

Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 10:41 am on 15 July 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 10:41, 15 July 2020

Llywydd, I agree with Andrew R.T. Davies that avoiding a second wave of coronavirus later this year is very important indeed to the health of businesses, as well to the health of the population, and it's why we have taken the approach we have here in Wales. And we are seeing in other parts of the world just how easily it is possible to move from a position of relative security to one where lockdown measures do have to be reimposed. So, I agree with his point there. 

Our 'Test Trace Protect' system does need to return more tests more quickly, and we are working with the system for that to happen. We would have had better results at the end of last week if it hadn't been for the fact that one of the lighthouse labs, that we are now using in greater numbers, faced a series of difficulties last week that meant that their ability to return tests in 24 hours was compromised by the challenges that they faced. We are arranging for an enhanced courier service to make sure that tests are taken from the testing site to the laboratory more quickly and more regularly during the day. We are exploring with our Welsh laboratories ways in which they can turn those tests around more quickly. 

In the meantime, the TTP system as a whole is, I'm pleased to say, working very well; 82 per cent of positive cases identified between 28 June and 4 July were successfully contacted, and 87 per cent of over 1,150 close contacts have been successfully followed up. And those figures compare very favourably with levels of successful follow-up that are being achieved elsewhere.