Date: 15/05/2020   |   Category - News, Public Protection Services

Responding to the Welsh Government’s plan to test, trace and protect, Councillor Andrew Morgan (Rhondda Cynon Taf) WLGA Leader said:

“Our lives have been profoundly impacted by COVID-19, and while we’re still learning about the behaviour of the disease, it is likely that we’ll have to learn to live it with it for a considerable time. Tracking and tracing the spread of the infection will be vital to enable us to do that, and to manage the current crisis.”

“The multi-agency plan set out by Welsh Government is ambitious and will require significant additional resources for it to be successfully delivered. Alongside specially trained council public protection officers, and partners in health, other non-clinical staff will need to be either recruited or redeployed to support the mammoth work to manage the disease in local communities. Welsh Government has recognised that this work will come at a cost, and councils will continue to work with Ministers to explore the implications and the funding required.”

Councillor Huw David (Bridgend), WLGA Spokesperson for Health and Social Care said:

“Coronavirus is the biggest public health crisis we have faced in generations, and councils have well and truly stepped up to the plate to do all they can to help ease pressure on the health service and to care for the most vulnerable in our communities. Local authorities are eager to continue to support the national strategy by making use of local knowledge. Council public protection officers have a wealth of experience and know-how that they can share with colleagues at a national level to scale up contacting tracing efforts at pace. Councils will continue to work closely with Public Health Wales, Welsh Government and partners in health as we embark into the next phase of this emergency.”

“Although we are starting to see the fruits of all our efforts and personal sacrifices to minimise the spread of the disease, we are not in any way even close to being out of the woods. The threat posed by coronavirus has not diminished and we all need to continue to observe the guidelines by Welsh Government.”

-ENDS-