Author: Rhys Gregory

Swansea University has successfully won funding to reduce the time it takes to sanitise ambulances after carrying a suspected Covid-19 positive patient. Students from the university are helping slash the time it takes to clean an ambulance from 45 minutes to under 20 minutes. Led by the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) Centre of Excellence and Welsh Ambulance Service, the challenge was to reduce the current turnaround time to deep clean a vehicle and get it back on the road. Devised and developed in under two weeks, interest in the challenge was overwhelming, with over 200 proposed solutions from across…

Coronavirus survivor Danny Egan knew exactly what he wanted to do after being discharged from hospital – give his wife a kiss. The 73-year-old grandad was one of the first two previously ventilated COVID-19 patients to go home from Swansea’s Morriston Hospital. The remarkable recoveries were marked by dozens of staff who lined the corridors outside ward H to send off Danny (pictured left with Sister Kirsty Hopkins) and 48-year-old David Courtney-Williams, a charge nurse on ward 12 at Singleton Hospital, with a rousing round of applause. Ward H sister Kirsty Hopkins said: “They were extremely unwell and were ventilated…

With the roll-out of 5G ready to be implemented in Wales, it could be a turning point for many people in terms of connectivity. Currently, almost 9% of rural areas in Great Britain have limited access to the internet at home or on the move. This is set to change, with 5G masts being installed across Wales to bring faster internet to mobile phones, and a UK government pledge to ensure that all homes are equipped with fibre broadband by 2025. This may feel slightly ambitious, however, as the UK is currently lagging behind when it comes to connectivity. In…

South Wales Police is investigating a fatal road traffic collision which occurred on the A4050 Port Road East, Barry, today. Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 11.15am following the collision which involved a silver Yamaha motorbike and a brown Volvo XC 40, both of which had been travelling westbound. The motorcyclist, a 62-year-old man, suffered fatal injuries and was declared deceased at the scene. His family have been informed are being supported by specially trained officers. The road currently remains closed from the roundabout near Brynhill Golf Club, to the junction with Merthyr Dyfan Road, while investigations…

The Blackweir Bridge that is used to cross the River Taff in Cardiff’s Bute Park area is set to be shut by Cardiff Council. Despite clear warnings asking the public to adhere to social distancing measures, they are continually being ignored, leaving the council with little choice but to close the bridge. The warnings had asked people to only cross the bridge in one direction due to the narrowness of the bridge crossing, which makes it difficult to keep two metres apart. Teams from Cardiff’s park services will continue their joint patrols with South Wales Police across the city’s parks…

Four cemeteries in Cardiff will re-open to members of the public from Saturday (25th April), with newly-redeployed teams in place to ensure social distancing is maintained and the spaces are not used inappropriately during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak. The council is calling on the public to only visit the cemeteries if they are attending a grave or for a funeral so that social distancing can be observed. In a separate move Blackweir Bridge across the Taff is being closed to the public after signs calling on people to observe social distancing were ignored despite repeated warnings. The cemeteries were temporarily closed…

First Minister Mark Drakeford has published a framework and seven key questions to help lead Wales out of the coronavirus pandemic. The framework will help to determine when the strict stay-at-home restrictions can begin to be relaxed in Wales and will help to find a way for people in Wales to live and work alongside coronavirus. A Wales-wide programme of surveillance, case identification, and contact tracing is being developed through the office of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Frank Atherton. This will highlight the importance of community testing and support the containment of emerging coronavirus infections as and when restrictions…

Transcend Packaging is adapting the way it works to produce a million face shields a week in response to the First Minister’s call for action to support NHS Wales. The Transcend face shield has been approved for coronavirus protection and will also be used in factories and other workplaces. Production is taking place at the firm’s factory in Ystrad Mynach where it usually makes paper straws and other sustainable packaging for the world’s leading quick service restaurants. Around a million face shields will be made initially, but the firm can increase production to make almost two million a week to…

The campaign, The 2.6 Challenge, will launch on Sunday 26 April 2020 – what should have been the date of the 40th London Marathon, the world’s biggest one day annual fundraising event, which raised £66.4 million for charities in 2019. The 2.6 Challenge can be any activity you like – from running around the balcony for 2.6 miles to juggling for 2.6 minutes or doing 26 press-ups with the dog on your back, the options are endless. The only requirement is that you must follow Government guidelines on exercise and social distancing. Most people are taking part from Sunday 26 April but you…

The job of the RSPCA is never finished – and an off-duty inspector had to unexpectedly rush to the aid of a sheep in Whitland this weekend.  RSPCA inspector Keith Hogben was taking his daily exercise on Sunday (April 19) as restrictions on daily life continue amid the Covid-19 outbreak. He and his partner – fellow RSPCA officer Ellie West – spotted the lost lamb in the middle of a country lane, with the mother heard crying nearby but unable to reach her lamb. A passing car then frightened the lamb further, and she retreated into a nearby hedgerow. Inspector…