Welsh Government U-turn on testing in care homes
All residents and staff in care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus will be tested for the virus, the Welsh Government has announced today.
The U-turn comes following latest scientific evidence which shows testing should be extended in care homes to manage outbreaks.
The Welsh Government came under fire this weekfor their decision not to carry out testing with the First Minister, Mark Drakeford, saying there would be "no value" to providing coronavirus tests to everybody in care homes.
On Tuesday, the NHS in England changed its policy and began testing all residents and staff within care home settings but the Welsh Government did not initially follow suit.
Today opposition parties here in Wales welcomed the announcement after calling on the Welsh Government to increase testing, especially for all residents in care homes.
This announcement means in the case of care homes, where a number of older people are living closely together, many of which will have underlying health conditions, if the results of the tests are positive, the Welsh Government will assume – and take actions – as if everyone in the home has tested positive.
The Welsh Government said it is implementing a three-stage testing and rapid response plan to help care homes deal with coronavirus which will be a mixture of testing and environmental and hygiene support measures.