Responding to the news that further lockdown restrictions have been eased in Wales, Shadow Health Minister for Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS has said the Welsh Government must be able to prove its ability to deal with new outbreaks – or risk losing public confidence.

Figures released this week show nearly three quarters of test results have taken longer than the optimal 24 hours.

Plaid Cymru Shadow Health Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, said:

“We all want to gradually get our freedoms back, but any easing of restrictions needs to be accompanied by a robust mechanism to stamp out coronavirus outbreaks.

“The latest testing turnaround times do not fill me with confidence that Welsh Government will be able to quickly react to new outbreaks, given that three quarters of tests from regional testing centres are taking more than 24 hours to return.

“The recent outbreak in Wrexham is a warning that we still live with a very real Covid-19 threat, and that robust regimes are needed to identify and clamp down on local clusters. This is vital so we can avoid the economic and social impact of having to impose new strict lockdowns.”