I hope Argus readers had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year.

Most of all, I hope people kept safe and well during the festivities.

While it may be frustrating to have a second Christmas period in a row disrupted by the global pandemic, my view is that it is far better to exercise caution to avoid illness at a later date and possibly hospitalisation.

The one silver lining of the Omnicron variant is that early evidence appears to show it is milder than its predecessors.

People may not be going into intensive care in the same numbers as they were during the first and second waves of coronavirus, but transmission rates are much greater.

As we welcomed in the new year, very few parts of Wales had case rates lower than 1,000 per 100,000 population. This meant the infection rate across Wales has risen to a figure higher than at any other stage of the pandemic.

I imagine there were few people in Wales that did not know someone who had caught coronavirus in recent weeks.

The high infection rates we are experiencing across all communities are reflected in the disruption that has been caused to essential services and business in recent weeks.

Key workers have been impacted in their droves.

Inevitably, this has meant health services have been affected across Wales due to staff absences from coronavirus.

Public transport has also suffered, with cancelled services and reduced timetables being implemented. This will mean people without cars will find it much more difficult to get into work or make hospital appointments.

There are a difficult few weeks ahead for our country and our health service. I only hope we can keep the infection rate as low as possible and save as many lives as possible.

Praise is fully deserved for all key workers who have kept going throughout these difficult times after an exhausting two years. I want to pay particular tribute to all of the NHS workers, pharmacy staff and the huge teams of people involved in the vaccination booster roll-out that has picked up pace in the last few weeks. I received my booster just before Christmas and I could not be more relieved to receive it. The staff that dealt with me on the day were efficient but also friendly despite the huge pressure to vaccinate as many people as possible before the year ended. It only increased my appreciation of the people working so hard around the clock to protect us and our communities.

Diolch yn fawr.