Covid: 23 deaths linked to three hospital outbreaks

Twenty-one patients have now died with coronavirus following an outbreak at a hospital.

To date 127 cases have been linked to an outbreak at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Two people have also died amid outbreaks at Prince Charles Hospital, and the Princess of Wales Hospital.

Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board said "immediate measures" had been taken to stop the virus spreading.

Medical Director Dr Nick Lyons said there was no evidence of Covid transmission between the three hospitals, and the rise in cases was "inevitable".

As of Tuesday, 17 cases had been linked to an outbreak at Prince Charles Hospital, in Merthyr Tydfil, and one person had died.

Figures also show 15 cases have been linked to Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend, and one person has died.

Visits to the hospitals were suspended in September, following concerns in a rise in coronavirus cases in communities.

Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend and Merthyr Tydfil, are all currently subject to local lockdown restrictions, with people banned from socialising indoors and from entering or leaving the areas without a "reasonable excuse".

Official Public Health Wales statistics show that as of Wednesday, 360 people were known to have died with coronavirus in the Cwm Taf health board area.

In addition, 194 new cases were confirmed in the area, with 93 in RCT, 33 in Bridgend and 23 in Merthyr Tydfil.

Merthyr Tydfil now has the highest case rate of coronavirus in Wales, with 200.6 cases per 100,000 of the population over the last seven days.

Dr Lyons said all of the confirmed cases linked to the outbreak had tested positive for Covid-19 within 14 days of attending one of the hospitals, but some patients may have caught it elsewhere."If we look at other outbreaks in other parts of the country, it was inevitable," he said.

"It's too early to say we've reached the top of the curve. It's too early to draw conclusions, and the focus needs to be on making the hospital safe."

He added: "The safety of our patients and staff remains our first priority and immediate measures to contain the spread of the virus have been put in place.

"We are taking the outbreaks extremely seriously and the stringent and robust mitigating actions which have been taken across our sites are being closely observed.

"However given the nature of Coronavirus, there is an inevitable time delay when we will see the positive impact of these measures. "

All routine surgery had already been cancelled at Royal Glamorgan, with patients attending the A&E sent elsewhere, while a field hospital is being used for patients to rehabilitate before being sent home.

A helpline has been set up for any relatives or people living in the communities who have concerns, which can be reached on 01685 726464.

Dr Lyons said infection rates in communities were "continuing to rise" and appealed to people to not break social distancing and lockdown rules.

"We remain grateful to all members of our community who are continuing to adhere to the guidance in order to help control this virus," he said.

Local MP Alex Davies-Jones and Member of the Senedd (MS) Mick Antoniw said the rise in the number of deaths at the Royal Glamorgan was deeply troubling."It is an incredibly worrying deterioration in what was already a major incident and we know that local people will share our concern," they said. "We are seeking urgent clarification from the health board on why this has happened and more importantly, what measures are being implemented to ensure that the outbreak is fully contained."