Press Release

Questions & Answers Re Testing for Coronavirus

14 May 2020

Information supplied by Llywodraeth Cymru/The Welsh Government

 

Does Wales have a strategy for testing?

The Chief Medical Officer for Wales introduced guidance for coronavirus testing in Wales on 18 March, which set out who should be tested. An updated policy, which extended testing to all critical workers was published on 18 April. A national testing plan for Wales was published on 7 April and outlined two main aims – to reduce the harm caused by coronavirus and to help the public and professionals get back to their normal daily lives.
A new Test, Trace, Protect strategy, which sets out the next phase of our approach to tackling coronavirus, has now been published. This covers our approach to testing people with symptoms in the community, tracing those they have come into close contact with, who may be at risk of having the virus, and protecting family, friends and our community by self-isolating.

Does the Test, Trace, Protect strategy differ from other UK approaches?
Coronavirus will be with us until an effective vaccine is available or there is sufficient acquired immunity among the population. Research is ongoing in Wales to explore new treatments for the virus and the first vaccine trials have started in the UK.

We have, and we will continue, to base our approach on the best available scientific evidence, health surveillance and international learning. Contact tracing is a long-established public health approach to containing the spread of infectious diseases and has proven to be effective in other countries.

In Wales, we have a robust, national public health system, which puts us in a strong position as we move to the next phase of the virus and as we begin the gradual and cautious process of easing the lockdown restrictions. Our aim is to maintain a UK-wide approach.

How will the Test, Trace, Protect strategy work?
Test, Trace, Protect will work by:
 Identifying those who have coronavirus symptoms, enabling them to be tested and to isolate from wider family, friends and their community. Testing will be available for the public. Further detail about how to access testing will be published shortly.
 Tracing those who have been in close contact with the symptomatic/tested person, asking them self-isolate.
 Providing advice and guidance, particularly if the person who has symptoms or their contacts are in the shielding group or the at risk group.
 Ensuring that if the symptoms are not due to coronavirus, individuals and their contacts can get back to their normal routines as soon as possible.

May 14, 2020

How will the strategy be delivered?

Delivering Test, Trace, Protect will require working closely across a number of public sector organisations to deliver one of the biggest public health interventions in a generation. Public Health Wales, health boards and local authorities will all help deliver this strategy.
The public will be our most important partners. It is only through their willingness to report their symptoms, identify their contacts and follow advice about self-isolating that we will be able to identify new cases and hotspots of coronavirus and prevent a new peak in cases occurring.

 

What role does testing play in the Test, Trace, Protect strategy?

Testing for coronavirus has a number of purposes, it is vital for:
 Diagnosing the virus to help with treatment and care.
 Population health surveillance, so we understand the spread of the disease and can identify clusters and hot spots.
 Contact tracing, to control the spread of the virus.
 Business continuity, helping critical workers to return to work more quickly and safely
 When the antibody test is available, it will help us identify who has had coronavirus
Testing will be extended beyond people in hospital, residents in care homes, and critical workers, to include the public. This will either be through self-referral or as a result of being identified through contact tracing.

How do I book a test if I am a critical worker?

The process for booking a test if you are a critical worker is as follows:
 Health boards and NHS trusts have their own processes for booking tests. Healthcare workers displaying symptoms should continue to speak to their occupational health team for advice on how to access a test.
 Social care worker referrals for testing are coordinated via the local authorities or local resilience forums (LRFs). Care homes can refer symptomatic workers for testing as part of the testing process for care home residents
 For the moment, all other critical workers should continue to follow local operational referral arrangements in place, details available here. These local referral arrangements will be replaced with a new self-service booking portal. Details will be available soon.

How will we scale up the approach to testing?
We have already extended our infrastructure in Wales, increasing the number of mass-drive through testing centres, introducing eight new mobile swab units and developing a network of community testing units.
As we implement the Test Trace Protect strategy, home testing kits and end-to-end testing booking and results system will be introduced. This will involve joining up with the UK-wide web-based booking platforms and processing systems already in place.
Working closely with our UK counterparts we will be able to rapidly scale up our existing testing policy for critical workers, broaden testing to include members of the public, implementing an effective symptom reporting system, conducting proximity tracking, contact tracing, and health surveillance.

May 14, 2020

How will we ensure there is sufficient capacity for testing in Wales?

The scale of testing capacity needed in Wales to support this approach is unprecedented. We have significantly expanded our testing capacity with laboratory capacity currently available to process more than 5,000 tests a day, and with testing centres now open around Wales.
We will continue to increase this capacity over the coming weeks and months, to as many as 10,000 tests a day, enabling us to test more people staying in hospitals and care settings and those working in these sectors and in other critical services.

As we move to mass population testing to support contact tracing, we will also draw on the testing programme operating across the UK, with systems in place to ensure that data is retained in Wales. Using this additional capacity also brings the benefit of being able to have tests delivered to people’s home for them to self-administer.

Contact tracing combined with the other purposes that testing supports could require as many as 20,000 tests a day, but this is highly dependent on the spread of the disease, the prevalence of symptoms and the emerging evidence on how testing can best be deployed to prevent infection. We will continue to keep this evidence under review and adapt our estimates of need accordingly.

How do you test for coronavirus?

Because infected people may have anything from mild respiratory symptoms to severe pneumonia, the only way to confirm someone has coronavirus is to test them.
There is currently one type of test in regular use – the antigen (swab) test which is used to test whether someone with symptoms has coronavirus. The antigen test looks for the presence of the genetic signature of the virus, with the test performed in a laboratory.
The type of test processed through Welsh laboratories involves a ‘single dry swab’ taken from the back of the throat. The type of test processed through English laboratories involves ‘two wet swab’ sample collections taken from the nose and throat.
Another type of test is possible – this is the antibody test. This tests a drop of the blood to see whether someone has been exposed to coronavirus infection and has developed antibodies – has some immunity to the virus. This test is also performed in the laboratory but it can be adapted into a testing format for community use. At the moment, the antibody test is not available for widespread use in the UK – work is ongoing to verify the reliability and effectiveness of the test. It is hoped an effective form of the antibody test will be confirmed, which can be used in the community to track the progression of coronavirus.
Once the antibody test has been validated, it will be available for use in Wales.

Where can I get the latest data about tests?

Public Health Wales launched an interactive dashboard with the latest data relating to coronavirus in Wales.
Weekly updates are also published here on the number and results of coronavirus tests, who was tested and where they were tested.

What is contact tracing and how will this work?

Contact tracing is a tried and tested method of controlling the spread of infectious diseases. It will also help us prevent and understand how the disease is passing from person to person. We used contact tracing during the initial ‘contain’ phase of our response to coronavirus.
A digital platform for contact tracing across Wales is being developed. This will allow people to simply and quickly report their contacts, helping contact tracing teams to work effectively, and providing real time intelligence across the whole of Wales on the coverage of the disease, how quickly it is spreading, and where there are hotspots of infection.
Contact tracing will be delivered regionally through health boards. They will provide local co-ordination and work in partnership with local authorities and other public services deploy contact tracing teams who understand the local context. This will help to speed up contact tracing activity, and to identify new trends or local clusters of the disease as early as possible.
A UK-wide digital app will also be available.

What role can I play to protect myself, my family, friends and community?

Testing and contact tracing is not an end in itself. We will need people to continue to play their part and follow the latest public health guidance.
The symptoms of coronavirus are a high temperature and a new, persistent cough. If you think you might have coronavirus, do not call 111 or go to a hospital or your local GP surgery because you could infect other people.
You should stay at home for seven days if you have symptoms. If you live with someone who has symptoms but you are well, you should self-isolate for 14 days.
If you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home or if your condition gets worse, or your symptoms do not get better after seven days, use the 111 online coronavirus service. If you do not have internet access, call 111.
In a medical emergency, dial 999.

 

May 14, 2020

~ ~ ~ ~

 

Hi everyone;

I trust you are all well and truly enjoying God’s blessing upon your lives.

It has been a long time since we have been able of meeting together and I do miss you all. Now I have truly learned what Paul means by his teaching of being with you in Spirit.

‘For thou I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is’ Colossians 2:5.

I am sending you the written version of our Sunday Message and Bible Study but I will be sending some you a voice message as well.

God bless

“Let’s do our best to reach the whole world as soon as possible for Christ”

 

1 THESSALONIANS 1:1 -10 – 17/05/20

We read first about the church in the city of Thessaloniki in the book of Acts 17. Thessaloniki was, and is a city located in modern Greece. In this city the Jews gave Paul a very hard time but by God’s grace he was able to start a church in that place. The Emperor of those days was Claudius, he is the same one we read about in Acts 18:1,2. The Jews were causing him some disturbance and he expelled all of them from Rome and he always tried to quash any revolt within the empire. Unfortunately he thought that Christianity was a Jewish enterprise and he gave the Christians a hard time as well. In the midst of these difficulties Paul wrote to the church to encourage her. So, our brothers and sisters were facing trial as a community and not as individuals.

We learn from the scriptures that when one suffers, all suffer with him (1Corinthians 12:26). However, it is unusual for all of us to face suffering and difficulties at the same time, for the same reason. I have been a Christian since 1982 and I remember us praying for our brothers and sisters in the persecuted countries of Eastern Europe, China etc. They were facing suffering as a group of people at the same time. I know in our prayer meeting we pray for individuals and families and I myself have seen the benefit of those prayers for me and my own family. However, this is the first time I can remember when we are suffering as a community. We are facing the same the pain, challenges and at the same time we are isolated and not being able of comforting each other personally. Let me remind you, Paul was comforting this church through a letter. He was not there in person, he wished he could have been there. How I wish I could visit each one of you and comfort you and pray with you. Even though I cannot be with you in body, I do know I am with you in spirit. Paul was encouraging them to remain together.

Paul remembered what a blessing the church in Thessaloniki had been and he delighted himself in the memories he had of all of them. He told himself the same story again and again. I have wonderful memories of all of you and I am extremely blessed to have you as part of my flock. You are a great encouragement, you are kind, you are responsible, you are funny, you are loving, you are sensitive, you are helpful, and much more. I pray for you and I consider an honour to work with each of you and above all to worship the Lord with you. I miss you all. I miss the times we went together to the house of the Lord but I do know these days will return. During this time when we are not able to meet together as we were, we must decide we are going to see it through as one body, of one mind, with one purpose.

One thing Paul highlights in this passage is in verse 6 ‘joy given by the Holy Spirit’. The joy given by the Holy Spirit is much greater than any pain we are facing at the present moment. I am not talking about happiness, I am talking about joy. The psalmist  spoke about it when he said ‘fulness of joy’ Psalm 16:11 ‘You make known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasure at your right hand’. The joy of the Lord is also part of God’s anointing upon our lives. Anointing is not just to heal the sick, or speak in tongues, or to preach powerfully – a true joy from the Spirit of God is also part of God’s anointing upon the life of those who believe. Talking to people, many of them say the same thing ‘I am fed up and I can’t go out’. I know where they are coming from. When I feel I have had enough I always go back to the Lord and ask Him to renew my spiritual joy. We are in this together and may our joy be made known. It is not because we are putting a brave face on but because the joy of the Lord is overflowing in our lives. Nehemiah said the same to the Jews who were living in Jerusalem under terrible conditions, they were facing it as a community, he said to them ‘the joy of the Lord is our strength’ Nehemiah may people see how we came up to the challenge and how we are reacting in positive ways because  the Spirit of Christ abides in us. We are facing the same problem at the same time and as God enabled the church in Thessaloniki, He will also enable us. Be of good heart, have faith, He will see us through. We know that we are in good hands – in His hands. We are God’s responsibility before we are the government’s responsibility.8:10. Once all of this is over I want part of our testimony to be ‘the joy of the Lord kept me going and I was joyful’. We are believers and the resources of God are immense. May our faith be known in the surrounding area.

 

BIBLE STUDY – PSALM 77 – 17/05/20

When God finished creating the world, He did not sign His name at the bottom of if – Jehovah. Neither did He write on a stone ‘Elohim was here’. No He did not, however, His art work can be seen wherever we go. We are truly living in an Art Gallery. Our world is an splendorous art gallery.

Psalm 77 is constituted of 20 verses. The first 9 verses  comes from the mind of a believer that was looking at circumstances around him and he was losing heart. He was drowning in his sorrows and pains. However, from verse 9 the writer of the this psalm changes his tune altogether and learns to find rest and strength in God.

When life around us seems to be very bleak and we can feel discouraged we need to lift our heads and see much further than the horizons. Suppose you are in a plane and enjoying the sunset from the view you have from the sky, then you hear a voice through the loudspeaker asking the passengers to fasten their belt for landing. Then as you touch down at Cardiff airport, the sky is grey, it is raining etc. You know that above the clouds there is a beautiful sky and you have just seen it. Beyond our bad weather life situation, I can reassure you that there is bright sky ahead of us and for us. I am not ashamed of saying that many and many times I cry out to God for help. When life gets tough I have learned to lean and depend on God. I do not want just to make it to heaven, I want very much so enjoy the benefits upon this earth that there are for those who trust in God. It seems that some times God is closer than other days. If I want to have God close to me when life is great I want Him even closer when life isn’t so great. In our agony and pain our hearts can cause us to doubt and inquire. God is God not because my faith is strong. He is strong in His own right. It is not my faith that makes Him strong. It is more I know of Him, stronger my faith will get. When in the midst of a storm, keep doing the right thing even when you do not feel like it. To do the right thing must be a principle in our lives.

Some times we need to stop ourselves on the spot and ask our own soul ‘what is the problem with you  – oh my soul?. From verse 10 -20 we see the psalmist telling himself of the great things the Lord has done. Yes, when facing some obstacles tell yourself of how the Lord has delivered you in the past and let such stories encourage your heart to trust in Him. Allow these wonderful memories to reinvigorate your faith and cause you to stand up and be counted. I have heard many people talking about the ‘Mountain Top Experience’. I do know what people mean by that. Therefore, do you know that the valleys are much more fruitful than the mountains? Do you know the soil of the valleys are much richer than the soil of the mountains? The best place to grow food it is on the valleys. What I am saying is ‘the valley experience can  richer and deeper than the mountain top experience.

I am sure all of you have read or heard about the beautiful poem ‘Footprints’. It is about someone who had a dream and was walking on the beach which represented his life. When came to the end of the beach he looked back and saw that in some parts of his life only set of footprints could be seen. He complained to the Lord and said ‘You promised to be with me all my life but there are parts of my life I walked alone’, the Lord replied ‘those were the hardest times of your life and during those times I carried you in my arms the footprints you saw they were mine and not yours’. I love this poem and the message of it too. I joke with my friends and I call it psalm 151 because some people recite it as if it was one of the psalms. As much as I love this poem, the message in Psalm 77 is a complete different one. Verse 19 says ‘ Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen’. The Hebrew children could not see His footprints but for sure He was guiding them. People of God, do not be afraid of the mighty waters, do not be afraid because you cannot see His footprints, I have plain confidence in Him. Tell yourself ‘the Lord has helped me in the past and I know for sure He will see me through again’.

Michael Coulter took this V.E. 75 shot in Yeo St

 

Another  memory to store with all the others we’ve received.

If YOU have pics to share, keep ’em coming!

am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk

 

All of the colourful and patriotic bunting, photographs  and various memorabilia displayed around Resolven on the 75th anniversary of V.E. Day in 2020 gave a feeling of pride mixed with sadness while remembering a past generation of the village to which we owe so  much.

It also gave us some joy and hope and a reason to celebrate for a short time, in these strangest of times.

 

 

Vaughan Avenue

 

~ ~ ~

 

The following photographs taken around the village were sent in to am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk  by KARA THOMAS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our grateful thanks to you, Kara Thomas for your contribution to Resolven District News.

Our e-mail address is am@resolvendistrictnews.co.uk

~ ~ ~ ~

Not being able to hold street parties in style as in  years gone by didn’t mean Resolven couldn’t pull out the stops to do it in a new style .  to satisfy the need to commemorate the sacrifices made over 75 years ago

Along with the need to lift the spirits of friends and neighbours during this time of isolation and distancing they find themselves in due to the corona virus crisis, residents  came up with ways to have parties at a distance. Front gardens , back gardens, grass verges and live feeds over the internet were all used to create a party atmosphere but staying within the guidelines of distancing that are keeping us safe Those lucky enough to have flags and bunting put them up outside their houses and those who didn’t made their own-from painted pillowcases , recycled birthday  banners and bunting,  to the  cutting up  of carrier bags with welsh dragons on, people used their creative imagination and  there was an array of decorations abound.

Flour supplies might have been in short supply but enough was found to make cakes and pastries to feed the party goers and compete with the skills we see on the Great British Bake Off.

NEATH ROAD

 

 

WILLIAMS AVENUE

 

COMPANY STREET

 

HEOL HERBERT

 

YNYSFACH

 

V.E.Day Birthday Girl!-Roxy Clarke  celebrating in YnysFach

 

 

YNYSFAWR

Birthday boy Morgan Hopkins. 11 years old on V.E. Day Many Happy Returns!

 

 

RUGBY ROAD

 

 

 

RHEOLA AVENUE

 

 

 

WELLFIELD AVENUE MELINCOURT

 

 

NANT Y GLEISIAD

TAN Y RHIW-Pauline Morgan with a V.E.Day smile

 

GORED COTTAGES

 

LYONS PLACE GARDEN TEAPARTY

 

PASTOR FORTUNATA SANTOS EMBRACING V.E. DAY AT HOME

 

Councillor Dean Lewis commemorating VE day with his family and sends his best wishes to everyone having celebrations during lockdown . He was both pleased and amazed to see how many imaginative ideas the residents had that observed the distancing rules we are keeping at the moment and wants to remind us he is available to help with anything he can during this crisis

 

Not every street was fortunate to have a safe way to join in the festivities but some did live internet feeds to family and friends and have a virtual tea party  and others did it indoors or outdoors alone but one thing joined everyone together and that was remembering that for 75 years we have flourished as a nation due to the sacrifices made over 75 years ago and they will never be forgotten .

Report by Diane Sims— (and thanks to all those who shared their photos with us.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just another memory..

 

Ow, what’s for tea Gran

Bugger tea she’d say

There’s a ton of coal out back

And don’t take all bloody day

Well?    Gran would say

I’d go and change into my scruffs

The barrow had a puncher

The shovel was short and worn

I hated getting the coal in

But if I didn’t they’d only bloody moan..

Gran would pitch in too

As long as she had a fag

We’d both be black as midnight

And the dust would make me gag..

 

Nearly finished now

We swept up all the small

A man came round the corner

He wasn’t very tall

A man who swung a man drill

He too was black as soot

Hard as granite and had that miners look

 

He tipped he cap

And tipped his fag

And gave me a knowing wink

Then said as only miners do

“How be”

He’d probably dug that coal

In the dark and soaking hell

I tip my cap to him and the miners

All like Sel…

BY NIK SAMUEL

 

 

 

 

 

.