Concern over lack of local COVID-19 tests
MyWelshpool has been trying to obtain localised figures, but we are being deflected by the local health board to the national body, Public Health Wales (PHW), who are only issuing a daily briefing for the time being.
Eighteen people in Powys are infected by the virus so far, but more localised figures are not being released with patient confidentiality thought to be a key factor.
Last night, it was reiterated that the actual figure will be far higher after Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the novel Coronavirus outbreak response at PHW, saying that just 5,000 Coronavirus tests had been carried out so far in Wales.
The official Welsh number of people who have tested positive for the disease is now at 921 after 180 new cases were announced on Friday. Just two of those new cases were in Powys.
Responding to the update, Shadow Health Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth AM, said: “We were told on March 21 that 800 tests a day were being done and that we’d hit 6,000 a day by April 1.
“To hear now that only 5,000 tests have been carried out in total is deeply worrying. We need to hear immediately how Government intends to ramp up testing significantly. This is now a matter of extreme urgency.”
Dr Howe said in his Friday briefing: “Six further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for novel Coronavirus, taking the number of deaths in Wales to 34.
“We offer our condolences to families and friends affected, and we ask those reporting on the situation to respect patient confidentiality.”
Meanwhile, work is under way across Wales to prepare for anticipated pressures on hospitals, mortuaries and testing centres. Work to convert a Welsh rugby ground into a temporary hospital ward amid the Coronavirus outbreak has started.
Powys Teaching Health Board announced this week that a temporary mortuary was being set-up in the village of Llanelwedd, home to the Royal Welsh Showground near Builth Wells.
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