THE leader of the Vale of Glamorgan Council has written an open letter to residents of the Vale to highlight the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic in the area.

Councillor Neil Moore, along with executive director of public health for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Fiona Kinghorn and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board chair Charles Janczewski have issued the letter in a plea for residents to take into consideration and do the right thing to help slow the spread of the virus.

The letter said: “The increasing numbers of Covid-19 case numbers across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan Health Board area could not be any more serious or alarming.

“Therefore, this message needs to be acted upon urgently and be seen as a warning to each and every one of us about the seriousness of the health situation we are all now facing.

“If current projections continue, then by Christmas week, we will be seeing more than four times the number of new infections each day, than we were seeing at the start of December. These projected figures are the highest we have ever seen in this county and are likely to reach almost 1,000 cases per 100,000 in the seven-day period up until Christmas Day. If you compare that with the figure of 50 cases per 100,000 when we entered the local lockdown, you can see how serious the current situation is. We can no longer be complacent.”

They explained how the case numbers increasing would see more people become seriously ill and there would be more deaths from coronavirus, which they believe can be avoided if the community act now.

They also expressed concern about hospitals and primary care services across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan being under unsustainable pressure.

The letter continues: “Each and every one of us has a responsibility to act now. We must all follow Welsh Government coronavirus regulations, but if you can also take further actions to protect those you love, then we urge you to do so.”

On the restrictions in place, they said: “We know that staying away from loved ones will be painful for many, especially at this time of year, but if we do this now, we will be doing everything we can to protect our family and friends for the months to come.

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“We know many people think that the vaccine is going to become more widely available, so everything is going to be okay. Regrettably, that is simply not the case. If we don’t change our behaviour now, many people will die before the vaccine is tolled out, people who don’t need to die, possibly people who you know.

“The full roll out of the vaccine will take many months, so now is not the time to be complacent. Very few of us are immune and the virus is still prevalent in our communities and our hospitals. By practicing social distancing, washing our hands regularly and wearing face coverings we will all be doing our bit to help.”

They provide the following guidelines:

• Wash your hands regularly or if you can’t do that use sanitiser hand gel.

• Please try and stay at home and only go out for essential reasons and if it is essential to go out, please do so in quieter periods.

• If you do go out, wear a mask when required and keep socially distanced by at least 2 metres, wherever possible.

• Please do not mix with other households or your friends.

• Work from home, if you can do so.

• If you develop symptoms such as a new and continuous cough, a temperature, or a loss of taste or smell please self-isolate with your household and arrange a test.

“These small steps can really help us all to keep our communities safe.

“As a Health Board and Council, we are fully mobilised in the fight against COVID-19. Doing so continues to be a huge challenge and is one that we will best achieve, if we do it together, just as we did in the Spring.

“We are asking every one of you to achieve this challenge together.

“Let’s stop the spread, and let’s keep the Vale of Glamorgan, the NHS and our loved ones safe.”