Six coronavirus cases now confirmed in Wales
Six cases of coronavirus have now been confirmed in Wales.
Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the novel coronavirus (covid-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Following the announcement by the Chief Medical Officer for Wales on Monday 9 March of a further two novel coronavirus cases in Wales, the total number of confirmed cases in Wales is now six.
“We have identified and contacted close contacts of the latest confirmed cases, and we are taking all appropriate actions to protect the public’s health.
“We can confirm that the two individuals are not linked to one another, and that they both travelled separately back to Wales from different parts of Italy.
“The individuals are being managed in clinically appropriate settings based on the assessment of a specialist infectious disease consultant.
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“The public can be assured that Wales and the whole of the UK is prepared for these types of incidents. Working with our partners in Wales and the UK, we have implemented our planned response, with robust infection control measures in place to protect the health of the public.
“All Welsh residents who meet the current testing criteria for Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) are being offered testing. As of Friday 6 March, 634 people in Wales have been tested for Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19). We will now be publishing the number of people tested in Wales every Thursday at 3pm. We are not able to comment on individual cases for reasons of patient confidentiality.
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“We would encourage people to check the updated advice for returning travellers, which now includes guidance for those returning from Italy, China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Macau, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Iran.
“Members of the public can help protect themselves and others by always carrying tissues, and using them to catch coughs or sneezes. They should bin the tissue, and to kill the germs, wash their hands with soap and water, or use a sanitiser gel. This is the best way to slow the spread of most germs, including novel coronavirus (Covid-19).”