9. Welsh Conservatives Debate: COVID-19 Prevention Measures

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:48 pm on 16 September 2020.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 5:48, 16 September 2020

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'd like to thank all Members who've taken part in the debate. Given the significant number of questions and the time I have to respond, I won't be able to deal with each and every single point. I'll start, though, with just addressing Andrew R.T. Davies's final point, and that is about travel in and out of areas. So, for the University of South Wales, people would be able to attend their university with the restrictions in place. They need to observe those restrictions once they're there. And as I say, some university students commute from a home address to go to university—they stay local—and others, of course, are used to moving away. So, it would be permissible for people to move into that area and to stay there for their study, but, as I say, the restrictions will change the way many of us will have to behave in both RCT and Caerphilly, and it's a warning about the potential for that to need to take place right across the country. 

This debate shows the fast-moving nature of the COVID threat and how a week really is a long time in politics at this particular point in time with a global public health emergency. Now, on face masks, previous Welsh Government advice, supported by the chief medical officer, was for members of the public to wear face coverings indoors wherever it was not possible to observe social distancing. Since Monday last week, it has been compulsory for people over 11 to wear a face covering in indoor public spaces, so that part of the motion has already been addressed. While face coverings make a small contribution, the use of a face covering is not a substitute for observing effective infection control measures, such as observing self-isolation, hand washing and social distancing. 

It's also worth reminding ourselves that significant reductions in coronavirus in Wales took place throughout this summer without mandatory face coverings, where we had high adherence to the basic challenges of social distancing and, indeed, following the rules on hand hygiene.