Wales does not need a new so-called "mega-lab" to process Covid-19 tests, the first minister has said.

Mark Drakeford told a video conference of assembly members there was “no problem in Wales in processing the tests that are being carried out”.

He was responding to criticism from Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price that Wales was the only UK nation not setting up a large lab.

“The capacity we have is adequate to deal with the tests we are currently conducting and we have plans to expand that capacity,” Mr Drakeford said.

Mr Price criticised the Welsh Government for failing to meet its testing targets and not taking up Cardiff University’s offer to help process tests.

“How can you say that we have the necessary capacity when you've missed your own targets on tests, three times in three weeks and now you've scrapped them?” Mr Price asked.

Chris Dearden
BBC Wales News

A man from Anglesey who received intensive care treatment for Covid-19 says it was the personal support of the nursing staff which enabled him to pull through.

Brian Davies, a 69-year-old taxi driver, was the first patient to go home from Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor after being successfully treated for the virus in the intensive care ward.

He was clapped and cheered by staff who had treated him in the hospital as he left on Monday after three weeks of treatment.

Now back home in Holyhead, Mr Davies told BBC Wales: "I started feeling a bit feverish at the end of March, but just thought I was in pain from pulling a muscle in my back.

"But when I was talking to my son on the phone from his home in Portsmouth, he became concerned at hearing me cough and say I was unwell.

"Soon after, I remember the ambulance crew coming to my home, and I remember being taken to an ambulance.The last thing I remember was crossing the Menai Bridge."

Mr Davies spent three weeks in Ysbyty Gwynedd, including almost two weeks on a ventilator in intensive care - which he described as "an out-of-body experience".

"I was aware of lying there, but it didn’t feel like I was properly inside my body," he said.

"Inside, it felt like I was shouting at the top of my voice, but I don’t think any sound was coming out.

"The one thing I do remember throughout my stay in hospital was that the staff always seemed to be there, and always seemed to be looking after me. It saved my life."

The clapping and cheering didn’t stop when Mr Davies left Ysbyty Gwynedd.

When he arrived home to his flat in Holyhead town centre, neighbours stood – two metres apart – to cheer him on his return home.

"I didn’t think I had so many friends”, Mr Davies added.

"People are still shouting ‘welcome home’ and ‘well done’ across the street. There’s a poster welcoming me home by the door.

"I was quite emotional at seeing my taxi parked outside. I’m looking forward to getting back to normal with the old steed again!"

Mr Davies plans to organise a fundraising event for Ysbyty Gwynedd as a way of thanking the staff who cared for him in hospital.

The First Secretary of State Dominic Raab has said it is important to have a target on coronavirus testing and called on the Welsh Government to "engage in this national effort".

He was standing in for Boris Johnson in the first virtual Prime Minister's Questions opposite new Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Sir Keir raised concerns that the UK Government was a long way off their stated target of 100,000 test per day by the end of the month.

But Mr Raab insisted they were "making good progress" and called on the Labour leader to encourage the Welsh Government to "work together" to increase testing.

"I do think that he should join with me, as we engage in this national effort, of saying to Labour's Welsh Health minister, Vaughan Gething - who has abandoned the Welsh target, in Labour-run Wales, of 5,000 (tests a day) - that actually, we need to work together in all four corners of the United Kingdom, to make sure that we reach that national effort," he said.

"It is about capacity, it is about distribution. We will only be able to manage to hit that target if all of us come together to deliver."

Mr Gething said on Tuesday that the lockdown had had such an impact on infections in Wales that there was no need for 5,000 tests a day.

Image source, HoC

There have been 15 new confirmed deaths of people in Wales with coronavirus, bringing the total to 624.

Public Health Wales said there were 274 new cases, bring the total number to 8,124.

The true number is likely to be higher as many people with symptoms are not tested.

The majority of cases and the highest incidence of deaths continue to be in south east Wales.

Public Health Wales has confirmed 274 new cases of coronavirus in Wales, bringing the total to 8,124.

Officials said the true number is likely to be higher as not everyone is being tested.

Another 15 deaths of people in Wales with Covid-19 have been confirmed, taking the total to 624.

Image source, Getty Images

The World Snooker Championship, originally set to take place in April and May, has been rescheduled to start on 31 July.

The event was postponed on 20 March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tournament, held at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, will run for 17 days and be broadcast in full across BBC TV and online.

The World Snooker Tour says it will assess "government advice at the time" about the number of spectators allowed inside the venue.

There have been 15 new confirmed deaths of people in Wales with coronavirus, bringing the total to 624.

Public Health Wales said there were 274 new cases, bring the total number to 8,124.

The true number is likely to be higher as many people with symptoms are not tested.

Opposition parties have criticised the Welsh Government for abandoning its target of carrying out 5,000 tests a day for coronavirus by mid-April.

Conservative group leader Paul Davies asked why the target had not been met, while Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said: "We are the only nation in these islands that have not seen a large scale laboratory set up to deal with the pandemic."

First Minister Mark Drakeford told a video conference of assembly members: "There will be more tests available in Wales by the end of this week compared to the end of last week”.

He added that he believed “we will have more people taking up those tests as we simplify the referral process”.

Mr Drakeford acknowledged that the system had proved bureaucratic because "getting the right person from the workplace, to the testing centre, in the right order, at the right time, does take organising".

Image source, Getty Images

There have been 15 new confirmed deaths of people in Wales with coronavirus, bringing the total to 624.

Public Health Wales said there were 274 new cases, bring the total number to 8,124.

The true number is likely to be higher as many people with symptoms are not tested.

National League clubs have voted to end the 2019-20 season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes "under careful consideration".

Wrexham were one point above the relegation zone but with games in hand over their rivals.

The league said there was a "clear majority of clubs in favour" of ending the current campaign from the almost 90% of responses returned.

Image source, Getty Images

The first minister has said the number of patients in Welsh hospitals because of coronavirus has "stabilised" and that the number of new admissions was falling.

Mark Drakeford told a video conference of assembly members that over half the nation's extended critical care capacity was still available.

"More than three thousand acute hospital beds are in the same position and both figures have improved over the last few days," he added.

"It is because that platform has been created that we can now use the weeks ahead to prepare; to agree a common set of objective measures to identify the point at which it is safe to begin lifting restrictions.

"These will tell us when the time is right to move beyond the current position."

First Minister Mark Drakeford has told assembly members that "the threat from coronavirus is not over".

Speaking at a Senedd plenary session held via video conference, he said: "Sadly, lives will still be lost in the days to come, and I know that all members will want to pause a moment to remember the 600 people and more who are no longer with us, and the grief and distress which this continues to cause to those closest to them.

"Any decision to ease restrictions will only be made when the medical and scientific advice is clear that the time is right to do so.

"The process will be careful, cautious and gradual – there can be no sudden return to the way of life before the pandemic."

Image source, National Assembly for Wales

An MP has raised concerns that workers returning to the NHS during the pandemic will not be covered by death in service benefits.

Ruth Jones, the Labour member for Newport West, has written to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, saying: "Staff who return to the NHS frontline as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic are not covered by the death in service protection.

"This means that their dependants would not receive full death in service entitlement if they were to sadly lose their lives."

Ms Jones has asked the minister to confirm what plans there were to extend the cover.

She added: "After all, they are putting themselves in harm's way to keep the rest of us alive and the very least we can do is ensure they and their families are protected."

Today's Senedd plenary meeting, held by video-conference, is under way.

First Minister Mark Drakeford, Health Minister Vaughan Gething and Economy Minister Ken Skates will make statements on coronavirus and will be questioned by assembly members.

Click on the Senedd Live link at the top of this page to watch proceedings.

It was a mistake for the UK not to join the EU medical equipment scheme, Wales' economy minister has said.

Ken Skates said he would “not do a Dominic Raab and be critical of individuals”, referring to the foreign secretary's comments about the Welsh Government's dropping of coronavirus test targets.

“But I do think it was a mistake not to be part of this particular scheme," Mr Skates added.

“I believe that we should have seized the opportunity to work with other governments to overcome a common challenge that we face.”

Officials have insisted the UK did not receive an initial invitation to join the EU scheme in time because of communication problems.

But Brussels sources have told the BBC the UK was given ample opportunity to take part in the scheme.

Singer-songwriter Gai Toms has tweeted about his mother's death after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Toms, from Bangor, Gwynedd, said his mother contracted the virus in hospital and was cremated yesterday.

"She didn't deserve to leave her friends and family in this way," he said.

Economy Minister Ken Skates says if police require additional powers to stop people from travelling to second homes in Wales during the coronavirus pandemic, the Welsh Government would be “more than happy” to consider them.

He was responding to a letter written by a group of senior doctors to the first minister calling on him to make second home use unlawful during lockdown.

Mr Skates said the guidance was “absolutely clear that people should remain in their main residence and only leave for essential journeys, and essential journeys do not include travelling to a second home”.

He added that people should not be requesting temporary residency at their second homes, describing it as “unacceptable behaviour”.

Companies found breaking rules on keeping workers 2m (6.6ft) apart will not be given financial support to help them survive the crisis, Wales' Economy Minister Ken Skates has said.

He told the Welsh Government's daily news conference he was working with business groups, employer organisations and trade unions to identify offenders but that the "overwhelming majority" of firms were "acting responsibly" and complying with the regulations.

"I'd like to thank them for doing so," he added.

Anyone who's been working from home and using video calls will know how Kevin Brennan is feeling.

The Cardiff West MP was taking part in today's virtual edition of Prime Minister's Questions when he encountered some technical issues.

We've all been there...

Mr Skates criticised high street banks saying they were "helping but still too slow in adapting their own ways of working".

He said they "need to process applications quicker and faster – in the way the Development Bank of Wales has done – to get support to where it’s needed, quicker".

He added: "With the Open University we are offering 1,000 free short online courses" and urged businesses and workers to "sharpen your tools".

Mr Skates said the UK government's coronavirus business interruption loan scheme was "very useful, but it is still too slow" in getting loan finance through to businesses.