3. Statement by the Minister for Health and Social Services: Update on Coronavirus

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 3:09 pm on 22 June 2021.

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Photo of Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Baroness Mair Eluned Morgan Labour 3:09, 22 June 2021

Gosh, lots of questions there, Russell. Thank you. I'll do my best to try and answer them. You'll be aware that we are just entering a third wave, and that is why now is not the time to put our foot down on the pedal, especially when we are still learning about the delta variant.

There are some really encouraging early signs, but obviously it's really difficult for us to measure from Wales, because our levels are so low, so we are looking at what's happening elsewhere, particularly in England. There are some very interesting papers that have been published, but they haven't been peer reviewed, so we're waiting for that analysis to be carried out so that we can have real confidence in what we're seeing as early indications of the potential for the two doses of the vaccine to significantly reduce the chances of hospitalisation. So, once we've seen that peer-reviewed document, I think we'll be in a better place to make a judgment. Certainly, that's why we've paused our unlocking system.

We don't have any plans for the time being for further lockdowns, but I've got to tell you that this will be data driven, as it's always been in Wales. We will follow the science and follow the data, and what we won't do is to give false promises. We won't have a freedom day in Wales; we won't have a terminus date that we will work towards. We will do what's right given the circumstances before us, and we will read the data and respond to that.

We were pleased to see that we were able to relax visits to hospitals, but I think it's probably worth emphasising that it is important for those decisions to be made at a local level. So, we know that the delta variant is very significant now, or it's building in areas of north Wales, so the judgments they make there may be different from the judgments that are made in health boards elsewhere.

We were pleased to relax the restrictions in relation to outdoor visitor centres, particularly for young children. And of course, what we tried to do was to give them the opportunity to use up the very few weeks that are left before the end of term. So, of course there's a balance to strike here; we've got to watch the data, but when we see that it's in a place that we are comfortable with, then I think a lot of those centres would be happy for us to open, rather than give them another three weeks to prepare. So, of course it's a balancing act.

In relation to flu, we are very concerned about potentially what could happen this winter. I know that the respiratory syncytial virus situation, in particular in relation to children, is something we are very concerned about, and we are putting very comprehensive organisational plans in place. That is quite far advanced already, and we will be listening to the advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation in terms of our ability to roll out booster doses alongside flu vaccines for the future.