Third Covid wave likely, warns Welsh health minister

‘It will be difficult to stop the flow from England,’ warns Eluned Morgan

Wales is likely to suffer a third wave of coronavirus infections because it will be difficult to stop the flow of the disease from England, the Welsh health minister has warned.

Eluned Morgan raised concerns over cases of the Delta variant in the country, with 97 reported, including 35 in Llandudno, Llandudno Junction and Penrhyn Bay.

Children at a primary school in Merthyr Tydfil have also been told to stay home for another week after a visitor on a teacher training day before half term tested positive for the variant.

“A third wave is likely. It will be difficult to stop the flow from England, the question is how big will this wave be,” Ms Morgan told BBC Radio Cymru.

“We are worried that the spread of the virus is so much higher with the Delta variant and that’s why the latest lifting of restrictions is in two parts.

“We have allowed three households to come together outdoors but we are waiting a few weeks for more data to be clearer that this variant is not spreading throughout our society and how it affects our hospitals.”

The Delta variant, of which there are 12,431 confirmed cases in the UK, is 40 per cent more transmissible compared with existing strains, Matt Hancock said on Sunday.

The health secretary said, however, he was confident that two doses of a vaccine would provide the same protection against the Delta variant as it does against other variants.

“So the good news is that the vaccine still works just as effectively,” he told Sky News.

Almost 70 per cent of people in Wales have received a first Covid-19 jab and almost 40 per cent are fully vaccinated, according to Public Health Wales.

All those aged 18 and over in Wales can book a vaccine, and Ms Morgan said another 300,000 people could receive a jab in the next fortnight.

Mark Drakeford, Wales’s first minister, urged people to book their jabs.

“In Wales, it’s never too late to come forward for vaccination,” he told BBC Radio Wales.

“If there are people who have missed out so far or who have not made their minds up to take vaccination, you can still come forward to make sure you have that protection yourself, and to help us with this great national effort.”

Asked about the possibility of local lockdowns, Mr Drakeford said: “We’ve always been open to taking local action where that is necessary.

“We’re taking local action in Conwy at the moment with mobile testing facilities available, and a call to that local population to come forward and take advantage of that and if further local actions are needed, then we won’t hesitate to take them if we are advised that they are necessary and effective.”

Wales recorded 92 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, taking the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 213,091.

No coronavirus deaths have been reported in the country for the last 10 days.