News

Contact tracing in Wales extended until March 2022

Published

4 years ago

June 1, 2021

WALES’ successful test, trace, protect service, which has helped to reduce the spread of coronavirus, will be extended to next year, with a further injection of Welsh Government funding.

A further £32m will be invested to extend contact tracing to March 2022.

The latest figures show that almost a year after TTP was launched in Wales, contact tracers have reached 99.7% of the positive cases that were eligible for follow up.

They successfully contacted almost 95% of the close contacts that were eligible for follow up, and provided them with advice, or helped to resolve their cases.

And local authorities have also approved more than 12,500 self-isolation support payments to help people to stay at home and reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading in their local communities.

Health and Social Services Minister Eluned Morgan said:

“Test, Trace, Protect has been extremely effective at supporting people who have tested positive and their contacts to isolate and providing advice, guidance and support. It is critical to stopping the virus spreading in our communities.

“It’s a year since we set up Test, Trace, Protect from scratch – at what the Auditor General for Wales described as an extraordinary scale and at pace. A great deal of hard work across NHS Wales, local authorities, the voluntary sector and partner organisations has created a highly-effective programme to help us keep Wales safe. Everyone involved can be extremely proud of their efforts.

“I want to thank everyone involved, including Public Health Wales and Digital Health Care Wales. In particular I want to thank the contact tracers and those providing Protect services who have provided much-needed support to people at an extremely difficult time in their lives.

“They have done much more than their title suggests – they have identified vulnerable people and got them extra support, whether that be someone to chat to, a food parcel, or linking in with vital mental health services.

“As we seek to stop the spread of new variants of concern, experienced contact tracers are key to doing this effectively and we are continuing to invest in this work.”

Research has suggested that when coronavirus transmission was high before the firebreak last year, TTP reduced the R number from approximately 1.7 to 1.3. Using the more recent R number and improvements to monitoring, its impact may be to reduce R from 1.3 to 0.8.

Contact tracers and advisers working for the TTP service are now undertaking enhanced contact tracing to tackle variants of concern.

They also:

· Manage and provide assurance to almost 18,000 travellers from amber list countries who must quarantine and take tests;

· Take vaccination programme calls from the public, arrange bookings and follow up on those who do not attend;

· Act as the contact centre for the Welsh Vaccination Certificate Service;

· Contact large businesses and local employers to encourage them to take up the Welsh Government offer of asymptomatic lateral flow tests, (LFTs);

· Contact local business, including licenced premises, hospitality and care homes, to establish correct contact details and establish if any support is needed in relation to COVID-19 measures, regulatory requirements and other public health issues;

· Support community testing sites.

Community

Festive celebrations at St Davids Cathedral this weekend

Published

3 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

ST DAVIDS Cathedral is set to host two special events on Sunday (Dec 22), offering a blend of joyful participation and traditional carol singing to mark the Christmas season.

In the morning, families are invited to the Scratch Nativity at 11:00am. Attendees are encouraged to come dressed as wise men, angels, sheep, or shepherds and take part in an unrehearsed retelling of the Christmas story. Canon Leigh described the event as: “Complete, wonderful chaos for an hour… but with some poignant, thought-provoking moments to centre ourselves on the real meaning of Christmas.”

Later in the evening, the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols by Candlelight will take place at 7:00pm, featuring the Cathedral Choir. The event, steeped in tradition, will see the cathedral bathed in candlelight as carols and scripture readings fill the historic space.

Doors will open at 5:45pm for those seeking unreserved seating, and a large turnout is expected for this beloved Christmas celebration.

Crime

Three men from London admit their guilt over illegal cannabis farm

Published

29 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THREE men admit their guilt after police discover over 700 cannabis plants during a raid on a former school building in Llandysul.

Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police executed a warrant at the former Ysgol Gynradd Llandysul on Heol Llyn Y Fran on November 15. Inside, they found 737 cannabis plants spread across multiple rooms.

Armeld Troksi, 29, and Njazi Gjana, 27, both from Empire Avenue in Edmonton, London, along with Ervin Gjana, 24, from Durham Avenue in Romford, were arrested at the scene and later charged with producing cannabis.

The three men appeared before Swansea Crown Court, where they admitted their involvement in the illegal operation. Defence solicitor Joshua Scouller requested a pre-sentence report for Ervin Gjana, which was granted by Judge Geraint Walters.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 20.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: “Following a warrant executed at the former school on Heol Llyn Y Fran, officers discovered a significant cannabis grow containing 737 plants.

“We are grateful to the local community for their continued support and cooperation. Officers will remain in the area while the site is secured.

“Our commitment remains firm in disrupting drug production and supply networks across our force area.

“We encourage residents to report any suspicious activity, no matter how small it may seem. Every piece of information can make a difference, and reports can easily be submitted through our website.”

News

Protest in Lampeter to save Wales’ oldest university

Published

56 mins ago

December 21, 2024

Tom Sinclair

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save Wales’ oldest university staged a march and demonstration last Friday (Dec 20) in a bid to highlight the plight of the Lampeter campus.

The protest, organised by the Lampeter Society, brought together former and current students, along with local residents, to oppose plans by the University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD) to relocate humanities courses to Carmarthen next September.

The rally began at Lampeter Rugby Club at 10:30am, with demonstrators marching to the university campus. Despite the timing—on a weekday and so close to Christmas—organisers reported a strong turnout.

Ieuan Davies, one of the organisers and a Lampeter alumnus from the 1980s, said: “We wanted to show support for the students whose education is being directly affected by these plans, and to remind decision-makers of the devastating impact this will have on the local economy and culture.”

Established in 1822, Lampeter is Wales’ oldest higher education institution. In 2009, it merged with Trinity College Carmarthen and later joined with Swansea Metropolitan University to form UWTSD.

The proposed relocation of the humanities faculty has sparked concerns about the long-term sustainability of higher education in Lampeter. Campaigners argue that losing the faculty would mark the end of over 200 years of academic heritage in the town.

The Lampeter Society has also launched a petition calling on the university and the Welsh Government to create a ‘viable, sustainable plan’ for the campus’s future. The petition requires 10,000 signatures to trigger a debate in the Senedd and can be accessed at https://petitions.senedd.wales/petitions/246410.