No “widespread community transmission” in Welshpool despite spike

Welshpool is not expected to suffer a return of lockdown restrictions despite a sharp rise in positive cases recorded by the mobile testing operation over the weekend.

Twenty-six people returned positive results from almost 500 people tested, and equated to the per 100,000/people that health chiefs use to enforce lockdowns, the town, with a population of around 7,000, would have been among the highest in the country.

But a source close to the testing operation tells us that the outbreak appears to have been mostly confined to employees of CDT Sidoli Ltd on the edge of town and the Director of Public Health for Powys Teaching Health Board confirmed that, so far, there was no “widespread community transmission” in Welshpool.

There is also the likely scenario that several of those who tested positive do not live in the town, or even the county.

Stuart Bourne, Director of Public Health for Powys Teaching Health Board, said: “We are very grateful to the team at CDT Sidoli Ltd, and to the people in Welshpool, for their quick and wholehearted response to this opportunity to be tested.

“A rapid and co-ordinated response when new cases are identified helps us to contain the spread of Coronavirus and to keep Powys safe.

“Based on our testing so far, we are not seeing evidence of widespread community transmission in the Welshpool area.”

Earlier today, Phil Cummings, Managing Director at CDT Sidoli Ltd, said that the firm moved quickly to work with the authorities after it became clear there was a problem.

The firm said that 250 staff had been asked to get tested and that the strict Covid-19 policies in place, which were approved by the Health and Safety Executive last week, have now been “reviewed and strengthened” to “provide learning that can be shared with other workplaces in the county”.

Powys County Council is also concerned at the numbers with cabinet member, Cllr James Evans saying that the authority would be reminding companies of the importance of “social distancing, regular hand washing and avoiding car sharing with people from other households”.

“It is vitally important that everyone maintains these standards outside the workplace in social environments as well,” he said.

This is the third known outbreak in Welshpool since the pandemic reached Powys on March 11 with the first positive test result.

Prior to the weekend, the town had recorded 58 of the 383 positive cases for the county.