Questions Without Notice from Party Spokespeople

Part of 2. Questions to the Minister for Health and Social Services – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 24 February 2021.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 1:45, 24 February 2021

I'm happy to say that in regular Welsh Government messaging, we highlight the importance of good ventilation, and that's in not just press conferences and other events that I do, but from others—from the chief medical officer, the deputy chief medical officer and indeed the First Minister, who has highlighted this as well. I know that that's practically been taken on board. For example, we have made sure that my son has an extra layer of clothing because windows in his classroom were open when he returned to school. So, the message is being taken up on ventilation in a much more significant and sustained manner than, to be fair, it would have been at the start of the pandemic.

When it comes to the review of the adequacy of personal protective equipment, that's a matter where we do regularly undertake reviews. The lead for that is the deputy chief medical officer, Professor Chris Jones. He regularly engages with other colleagues across the UK to make sure that our guidance is up to date. I understand the concerns that some people have about whether the current version of the PPE is the right version of PPE, given that we have a more transmissible variant of the virus—the Kent variant—in place as the dominant variant in Wales, but the latest review shows that our current standards are appropriate, and, as ever, they're always under review.