Author: Rhys Gregory

Almost 130,000 people will this week start receiving a letter from the Chief Medical Officer for Wales setting out the latest advice to protect them from coronavirus. They will be asked to continue shielding until 16 August, but the letter will also describe how the medical advice has changed to enable them to go outdoors to meet other people for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The shielded group are people who are classed as extremely vulnerable to developing serious illness if they contract coronavirus because they have a specific health condition. They have been following strict…

McDonald’s will reopen a further 261 restaurants for Drive Thru across the UK and Ireland today. McDonald’s across South Wales have seen thousands of people queue in their cars as the first restaurants opened in Wales, since closing in March due to the pandemic. McDonald’s Drive-Thrus in Cardiff will join Newport, Cwmbran, Ebbw Yale and Barry in reopening today. In addition to the Drive Thrus opening in Cardiff, the Queen Street branch of McDonald’s in Cardiff City Centre will open as well for McDelivery. McDonald’s Drive-Thrus in Cardiff open: Capitol Shopping Park (Leckwith) Excelsior Road (Western Avenue) Cardiff Bay Retail…

BBI Group, the world’s leading independent provider of immuno-diagnostic reagents and contract services, has today announced the acquisition of DIARECT, a leading supplier of autoimmune antigen products. The acquisition of DIARECT and their world leading recombinant autoimmune antigen capability immediately enhances BBI’s portfolio and position as a ‘complete’ immunoassay reagent supplier and therefore a natural partner for our customers. This further enhances BBI’s position as the world’s largest diagnostics components company with a market leading antigen portfolio. The UK-based business, which has manufacturing sites and sales offices across four continents including Crumlin in South Wales, will integrate DIARECT’s state of…

Contractors have moved on-site to start work on the Community Athletics Hub at Rhiw Syr Dafydd Primary School in Oakdale. The new facility was approved by the council’s Planning Committee on 23rd January 2020, and contractors Blakedown Sport and Play have moved onto the site this week and will begin construction week commencing the 8th June. Construction of the state-of-the-art track is expected to last until Autumn. Once complete the track will also feature a fan for off field events, e.g. high jump, long jump, shot put, javelin and discus. Two storage units are also proposed which will be used to store…

Transport for Wales (TfW) is sending out a clear message to the public – to Keep Wales Safe and only use public transport services if it’s essential and there’s no other travel alternative available to them. The safety of colleagues and passengers is a top priority and they want to ensure that those with no other choice than to use their services will have enough space to do so safely. TfW has launched a campaign aimed at public transport users, highlighting how travellers can keep themselves, transport staff and the rest of Wales as safe as possible, during these challenging…

A generous donation of 200 mobile phones to Cardiff Council’s homeless service is supporting vulnerable individuals on their journey away from the streets. Tesco Mobile have provided the devices, each with pre-loaded credit, so that individuals in emergency accommodation can keep in touch with their support workers. The current health emergency has presented services with a unique opportunity to better engage with homeless individuals in the city. More than 140 people are now staying in the additional emergency accommodation the Council sourced to safeguard those who had been sleeping on the streets during the  COVID-19 emergency and many more clients…

A free online booking and appointment app launched by Cardiff-based digital company Zipporah is helping the Vale of Glamorgan Council reopen its recycling centres and reduce waiting times for the public. First Minister Mark Drakeford announced last month that recycling centres could reopen as part of the easing of coronavirus restrictions. More than 3,000 bookings were made on the first day when they reopened in the Vale of Glamorgan – 10 bookings were made every minute. The Zipporah app called ‘Generic’, is helping people in the county to book an appointment. This is proving vital in helping recycling centres manage…

Applications for the new Welsh dairy support scheme will open on 18 June, supporting farmers hardest hit by the recent exceptional market conditions due to Covid 19, Rural Affairs Minister, Lesley Griffiths, has confirmed. The sector, which plays an important role in feeding the nation, felt the immediate impact of the pandemic with the closure of the food service and hospitality sectors. The Welsh dairy support scheme, developed by working with the industry, has been designed to support dairy producers to maintain production capacity during this challenging period. The scheme application window will be open until 14 August 2020. Through…

Wales’ leading health and social care charities have today called for greater support and better communication for people most at risk from Covid-19, following changes announced to lockdown guidance at the weekend. In an open letter to the Welsh Government, 32 charities have called for clearer and more consistent advice on ‘shielding’ measures during lockdown for those considered ‘extremely vulnerable’, and for clarity on what support will be available to help people protect themselves as lockdown measures begin to ease. In Wales, around 130,000 people in at risk groups have been advised to shieldi, and thousands more are choosing to…

UWTSD’s Swansea College of Art has supplied 500 visors to Swansea BID for distribution amongst shops and organisations in the city centre. The UWTSD team, led by Dr Ross Head, have been using the facilities at Swansea College of Art to produce the visors and have already supplied many care homes across the region. They have been working long hours laser cutting and assembling these vital face visors to help address any gaps in the supply of PPE. Swansea BID has been busy supporting the businesses in the BID area through these challenging times, and these visors will be offered…