Covid-19 briefing note

Act as if you might have Covid-19

Things have improved a little, but Wrexham still has the highest coronavirus levels in the whole of Wales (660.5 per 100k population on a rolling seven-day basis).

The new variant now accounts for most new cases in North Wales, although thankfully, there are no reported cases of the South African or Brazilian variants.

People of all ages are still getting ill, some are dying, and our local health services remain under huge pressure.

The message is still simple:

Act as if you – and everyone you meet – might have Covid-19.

Be ultra-careful, be ultra-considerate, and don’t mix with people from other households…indoors or outdoors.

Vaccination appointments – please don’t call your GP

When it’s your turn to be offered the vaccine, you’ll be contacted to arrange an appointment.

Please don’t contact your local GP or hospital to ask about an appointment in the meantime. When it’s your turn, you’ll be informed.

Our health services are already under huge pressure, and we need to give them time and space to focus on rolling out this massive vaccination programme.

Remember that Welsh Government is aiming to vaccinate:

  • All care home residents and staff, health and social care workers, people over 70 and people with underlying health conditions by mid-February.
  • People over 50 by the spring.
  • All other adults by the autumn.

Once you’ve had the jab, don’t go mad

Once you’ve had the jab, you still need to be extremely careful and stick to all the current restrictions and guidelines in Wales.

Protection isn’t instant (the vaccine takes time to work) and it still might be possible to catch or spread the virus.

So please don’t go mad and think you can ignore all the safety advice and restrictions once you’ve been vaccinated.

Keep being ultra-careful and stick to all the rules…even after you’ve had your jab.

Rollout in Wrexham

Staff and residents at care homes in Wrexham continue to be vaccinated. To date, over 67% of residents have been vaccinated and 46% of staff.

On Tuesday, January 26 a local vaccination centre will become operational at the Catrin Finch Centre.

This will play a key role in helping to rollout the vaccination programme in Wrexham, along with local GP practices.

You can read more about the rollout on the local health board website.

Our Covid story in numbers

This video below shows the number of coronavirus cases in Wrexham since the start of the pandemic.

Please take a moment to watch it…

Coronavirus levels where you live

Most areas of Wrexham have improved since the start of this week, but the figures remain very high.

The areas with more than 700 per 100k population are:

  • Gwersyllt West & Summerhill has 1,198 cases
  • Chirk and Ceiriog Valley has 972
  • Caia Park has 896
  • Wrexham West has 888
  • Hermitage & Whitegate has 811
  • Town North, University & Rhosddu has 743
  • Acton & Maesydre has 732

In Wrexham, the virus is still mainly finding its way into people’s homes and spreading between family members.

It also continues to make its presence felt in some care homes, workplaces, the hospital and the prison.

Schools and remote learning

Like the rest of Wales, schools in Wrexham continue to provide remote learning for pupils.

Unless there is a significant drop in virus levels, this will continue until the February half-term.

This is what we all need to do

Act as if you – and everyone you meet – might have Covid-19.

Keep sticking to the current restrictions in Wales and:

  • Don’t mix with people from other households (indoors or outdoors).
  • Don’t travel except for essential purposes…such as work, health reasons or caring duties.

Please stay strong and stick with it.

Thank you

Dealing with torrential rain and flooding is difficult enough at the best of times, but even worse during a pandemic.

So a massive thank you to everyone – including council staff, emergency services, partner agencies and our local communities – for helping Wrexham get through a difficult time.

You can read more about Storm Christoph and get the latest info on flooding by following North Wales Police, Natural Resources Wales and Wrexham Council on Twitter.

Useful sources of information