First Minister “I want to emphasise again, just because we are able to lift the restrictions further, coronavirus has not gone away”

The First Minister is urging for people to remain cautious, stating today that whilst new cases of coronavirus in Wales remains low, the pandemic is far from over.

Speaking at this afternoon’s Welsh Government briefing First Minister Mark Drakeford provided an update on the number of people currently being treated for coronavirus across Wales.

In total there are 546 people in Wales being treated for the virus, which is described as being 60 per cent lower than the peak in April and the lowest number throughout the pandemic.

19 people remain in critical care for coronavirus, which is down 88 per cent from the peak in April.

The R Number also remains below one.

As of yesterday, over 8000 people in Wales have been discharged from hospital having been treated for coronavirus.

Mr Drakeford said: “The number of people of people dying coronavirus, as you can see from the second slide there has been falling steadily with fewer Than 10 deaths reported by Public Health Wales on most days.

“Nevertheless, we are yet to see a single day in Wales, where no coronavirus deaths need to be reported.

“Every day, more families are still added to those already grieving, and we think again today of all of those who have lost a loved one during this pandemic. For them, the coronavirus crisis is certainly not over.

“It’s not over for all of us as well.”

It was also noted that there has been an increase in the number of coronavirus cases recorded in recent weeks due to the outbreaks at food processing plants in Wrexham, Anglesey and Merthyr Tydfil.

Mr Drakeford added: “I want to emphasise again, just because we are able to lift the restrictions further and move into the amber zone, coronavirus, has not gone away.

“I want to see more freedoms that we have all had to give up, restored to us all. I want to see more of the Welsh economy in recovery.

“But this will depend not on the actions of the Welsh Government, but on the actions of us all as Welsh citizens. We all need to keep to the golden rules that have helped to keep ourselves safe and which have helped to keep Wales safe too .

“Work from home wherever possible, avoid unnecessary travel, keep our distance from one another. The two metre rule still applies here in Wales.

“Wash our hands often meet people from one other household and in the outdoors. If we all continue to do this, we can continue to reduce cases of coronavirus forever and we will be able to continue lifting the restrictions in Wales.”

You can view today’s briefing, and the Q&A session on the below video:

Yn fyw gyda’r Prif Weinidog, Mark Drakeford | Live with First Minister, Mark Drakeford https://t.co/R0Ahr55jjC

— Welsh Government (@WelshGovernment) July 3, 2020