Experiences of Holyhead outbreak to help other areas tackle future incidents

Lessons learned from the response to last month’s Holyhead outbreak will be used to help control any similar spikes in other Welsh communities.

A flurry in cases in the port town last month prompted fears of a local lockdown as authorities implemented a raft of measures to ramp up testing and stifle the further spread of Covid-19.

Community measures led by Anglesey Council in March included over 6,000 PCR tests being delivered door to door as well as another 3,600 rapid testing kits for secondary school pupils and their support bubbles.
800 also attended a specially set up mobile testing unit in the town as well as another 290 being tested at a separate centre for those not showing any Covid-19 symptoms.

But addressing Friday’s meeting of the Corporate Scrutiny Committee, the Deputy Chief Executive confirmed that the final planned meeting of the incident management team would meet that afternoon after a substantial drop in virus circulation over recent weeks.

With not a single case having been recorded in the town since April 11, the report added that Holyhead’s situation was “successfully managed swiftly, avoiding further spread to other Anglesey communities.”
But with the possibility of a third wave still being mooted, possibly in late summer, the need for caution was also reiterated.

Mr Dylan Williams paid tribute to staff for their work during the pandemic but went on to say, “Things are looking promising now but they can change very quickly, we have seen it this week in Gwynedd with what happened in Bala with an outbreak there.

“In Holyhead, at one point, the infection rate was 500 compared to a Wales wide average of less than 40, and we’re only talking about three or four weeks ago.”
He added, “If the effort  to control its spread hadn’t worked (in Holyhead) and cases had continued to rise then its possible that further steps would have been necessary.
“The last meeting of the Incident Management Team will take place later today and I think the whole country will have learned a lot from what happened in Holyhead,  we were breaking new ground and putting measures in place that can be shared with other areas.
“It was all about timing and ensuring that the testing was right and sticking to the plan.
“I believe that Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley is opening up for another two weekends in May for mass vaccinations, so here’s hoping we can improve on the 40,000 that have already been vaccinated on the island.”
The leader of the opposition, Cllr Bryan Owen, also paid tribute to the work of the authority in controlling the pandemic over the past 13 months.
“I must say that the way the council has responded to the pandemic on the island has been excellent,” said Cllr Owen.
“The way it has protected our citizens has also been excellent and the daily messaging has driven home and ensured that everyone received the information they needed.
“How the council has responded is to be commended and we can’t find fault with anything which has taken place.
“We’ve never been through such a period before and what’s happened shows local government at its best and there’s a clear message there, if it ain’t broke don’t try and fix it.”

By Gareth Williams – Local Democracy Reporter