Travel Restrictions

Part of 3. Topical Questions – in the Senedd at 3:16 pm on 14 October 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 3:16, 14 October 2020

Llywydd, let me assure the Member that the people of Wales do not need the sort of explanation that he is offering. The people in Wales are clamouring for us to take the action that would protect them from people travelling into Wales from high infection areas elsewhere, and nowhere is that more true than in the Member's own constituency, where people are anxious and fearful of the effects on their area of people from very high transmission areas elsewhere—not being able to travel there from Wales, but, absurdly, still being able to travel from England to those areas. So, he is entirely out of step with the views and the preferences of people in Wales.

I was glad to publish that paper yesterday. It certainly does not implore me to do anything, and I'm more likely to rely on the advice of those who are experts in genomics, rather than amateur readers of their advice. If he wants two other bits of evidence—as I say, not that people in Wales need his evidence, because they are well convinced already—the evidence is, Llywydd, that up to 80 per cent of new infections are spread by superspreaders. So, it doesn't take many people to come in from an outside area who are a superspreader to have a very large effect. Secondly, using the novel techniques developed by specialists in Bangor University, we're now monitoring the waste water from points along the coast of north Wales and north-west England, and we're seeing significant loads of genomic copies of COVID-19 that show an increase in the likely prevalence of that virus in catchment areas. It demonstrates that visitors from beyond Wales bring the virus with them. That's what people are anxious to avoid, that's why we took action here in Wales. Wouldn't it be good if his party was willing to do the same?