Coronavirus 'requires nothing less than a total effort by all of us' to save lives

EVERY once in a while, one challenge emerges which is simply so enormous that everything else has to just grind to a halt to deal with it: that is where we are today with the Coronavirus.

COVID-19 is the biggest public health threat in more than a century and it requires nothing less than a total effort by all of us to prevent it from spreading, to prevent our NHS from being overwhelmed and to save lives.

It’s particularly vital for us here in the Aneurin Bevan health board area, which is now the epicentre of the crisis in Wales.

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I am speaking with the health board and local agencies every day to ensure that everyone in Blaenau Gwent gets the support and the advice they need at what is a deeply distressing and difficult time.

Many of us will have friends and family who are fighting the virus and our thoughts are with them and everyone affected by it.

We also need to reflect on the incredible debt of gratitude that we owe to the heroic staff in our NHS and social care services, and everyone else who is fighting to save lives and care for some very vulnerable people under immense pressure.

It’s also important that everyone who is helping to keep things moving; from drivers who get people to and from hospitals to people who make sure there is food on the shelves in our shops know that what they’re doing on behalf of all of us is appreciated.

The threat that COVID-19 poses is enormous and tackling it has meant some major – and uncomfortable changes.

Over the last few weeks, our entire way of life has been altered in ways that would have been unimaginable even a month or two ago.

The Welsh Government has taken the right steps, but they are not ones we would ever have previously considered even under fairly trying circumstances.

For my part, I’ve been working hard to help support local community efforts. Over the last few days I’ve visited and helped out with some very dedicated volunteers working to get food and medicine to people who are particularly isolated and in need of help.

One of the biggest priorities is making sure that especially vulnerable or elderly people are getting the support they need, so I have written to all main housing associations in the borough about ensuring support for vulnerable residents and I am continuing to monitor the situation closely.

I also know that many small businesses are deeply concerned about the impact on their cashflow and ability to pay wages, which is why the Government’s job retention scheme provides necessary certainty, but there are people who are not covered by it or who need extra support - particularly those who are self-employed, which is why the support package for them recently announced by the UK Government needs to be dramatically speeded up.

This scheme won’t be ready until June and people who need to pay the bills in the meantime are being told to wait possibly up to five weeks to receive Universal Credit; this isn’t good enough and I am working with Welsh Government ministers to try and get clarity on this for people urgently.

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Unfortunately, while so many organisations and employers have done the right thing by their communities and their staff by following the advice, a number of them have not.

I have been appalled by the scores of genuinely terrible reports I’ve received of health and safety advice being routinely flouted and openly ignored - companies providing non-essential goods and services sensing a fast buck and putting the health of their communities and workers at risk to get it.

As a result of these, I have raised the reports directly with the first minister and have written to him with clear examples of serious abuses.

I have asked for specific guidance on who exactly needs to be in work and who doesn’t, as well as for tough enforcement action against unscrupulous firms who are putting everyone in danger and I will be sure to keep pursuing this.

We can and will get through this crisis, but we can’t shy away from how difficult it will be.

The next few weeks are going to be among the most challenging our NHS and our communities have seen in many of our lifetimes.

What we can and need to do is to follow the advice, do what we can to protect our communities, be strong and be there for each other.