Coronavirus: Public Health Wales boss 'not familiar' with 9,000 tests aim

Tracey Cooper, bottom middle, is questioned by the committee

The chief executive of Public Health Wales (PHW) has said she is "not familiar" with Welsh ministers' original aim to carry out 9,000 daily coronavirus tests by the end of April. 

Tracey Cooper was questioned repeatedly in the Senedd's health committee about who gave advice on what was feasible.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething said on 21 March PHW was aiming for capacity for 9,000 tests by the end of April.

Tory health spokeswoman Angela Burns said she was shocked by the answers.

Dr Cooper was asked by Plaid Cymru and Conservative committee members about where the Welsh Government got the 9,000 figure from.

Again she stated that she was "not familiar with that trajectory".

The 9,000 target was set by Mr Gething in a statement to Members of the Senedd (MS) on 21 March but was later scrapped.

Questioned by Plaid Cymru and the Conservatives on whether the Welsh Government's target was based on advice from PHW, Ms Cooper insisted repeatedly that she was not "familiar" with the 9,000 figure or trajectory.

'Real challenge'

Meanwhile, Dr Cooper insisted that PHW had been in discussions with pharmaceutical giant Roche to secure 5,000 tests a day for Wales.

But asked by Plaid Cymru's health spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth whether those tests did not come after "the UK government stepped in", Dr Cooper suggested this was the case.

Dr Cooper told MSs that Wales was now receiving 19% of Roche's UK allocation - around 900 tests a day.

She went on to say that efforts to ramp up testing capacity in Wales had also been hampered by efforts to purchase equipment from other countries, with equipment purchased from South Korea in January arriving in Wales only recently.

She admitted global competition for supplies was a "real challenge".

Bur Dr Cooper said deliveries of equipment and chemicals expected soon would mean a "significant scale-up" of testing capacity here which currently stands at 2,350 tests a day.

MSs on the Welsh Parliament's health committee also questioned PHW on projections about how many tests would be eventually needed in Wales as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

A draft report from PHW Wales leaked to BBC Wales suggested Wales would need the capacity to conduct more than 30,000 tests a day as part of a comprehensive test, trace and track strategy.

Yet the health minister has insisted publicly Wales would need significantly fewer tests.

Dr Quentin Sandifer said 10,000 tests a day would be a 'realistic requirement'

Dr Quentin Sandifer, PHW medical director, insisted that the 30,000 plus figures had been based on analysis of a "worst case" at a time when the impact of the lockdown measures had not yet become clear.

He said its analysis now suggested the number of tests needed would be in the range of 7,500 to 17,000 daily tests but that 10,000 tests a day would be a "realistic requirement".

Dr Cooper told MSs that she expected Wales to soon have "comparable capacity" to England and Scotland based on population size.

Efforts to achieve that include bringing on-line eight mobile testing units run by the Army that would travel in health board areas bringing tests to care homes.

What has been the response?

The Welsh Government said in a statement that at the end of March, the health minister announced plans to increase testing capacity in Wales to 5,000 by end of April.

An extra 4,000 tests would also be available from a UK government-led four nations testing plan.

"Our testing plan aims to reduce the harm caused by coronavirus and to help the public and professionals get back to their normal daily lives. It is based on the latest expert advice," said a spokesman.

"Testing capacity is increasing every week. By the end of this week there will be six regional drive through testing centres and eight mobile testing units operating across Wales.

"Together with the on-going roll-out of the online portal for booking tests and the planned introduction of new home testing kits, this will help us significantly increase our daily testing."

PHW meanwhile said that the Welsh Government has indicated that an additional 4,000 tests were not a target for testing in Wales, but reflected UK arrangements at the time.

A spokesman said it was working closely with the Welsh Government, including advising them on testing capacity, but the government would also conduct its own analysis.

"We have now undertaken estimates on the required testing capacity for the next phase of the coronavirus incident, and this information is included in the recovery plan submitted to the Welsh Government for consideration," he added.