Quote Originally Posted by lisvaneblue View Post
Boris and co are currently struggling in my opinion, maybe too cavalier whereas Drakeford is also struggling maybe too cautious. Many on this board will have a go at the Torys whatever they do so there is a built in bias. Ive tried to be balanced in my comments and sometimes get shouted down. England track and trace is not fit for purpose, same as ours, and its an example of why all sides have been bloody useless.

To be fair to Boris he is trying to get the economy going again, and it looks as if opening town centre stores has been popular. Whether it will be a success in Wales, when for example the catchment area for Cardiff City centre shops will be restricted to five miles who knows? I was amazed to see Ken Skates on TV news yesterday saying that although Drakeford told the non essential shops to get ready to open on 22 June three weeks ago, they will not announce whether they can or not until Friday. It all depends on the R level.

Im sure you can imagine the work that will have gone into preparing to re-open the big Cardiff stores, pulling staff in, stock, social distancing procedures...and then it might all be blown away on Friday. Shows a total disregard for the economy of Wales, its people, and points to an off the cuff approach to things by the Senedd

As for the 5 mile, non scientific travel restrictions, its akin to herding large parts of Wales into their local hotspots, where we have to co-exist within places like Cardiff, Merthyr, RCT, Anglesey, Denbigh...no wonder the incidence in each keeps bubbling along. Whereas if you live within 5 miles of England anywhere along our 160 mile long border you can travel throughout England, shop, camp (from July 4), visit any beach. Its just a nonsense.

And don't say its for our own good because we all know the we have many of the worse hotspots in the UK.

Drakeford's needs to get an urgent grip on things and give the population of Wales a clear understanding of how things will ease together with dates.

On a personal note, like many Id like to see my family in Chepstow, I'd like to get my haircut, Id like to visit the dentist, Id like to book a campsite in Wales, ...just an indication of when this might happen would help us all.

And as a final personal note, my wife had a problem with a tooth. Her local dentist in Cardiff gave advice over the phone and recommended do it yourself cement filling. We tried it and failed. Currently nothing else can be done for her in Wales. So we found a dentist in Gloucestershire who thinks he can sort it. It needs an initial assessment, plus probably four visits to get the job done. Where is the scientific evidence that its oK to practice as a dentist in England but not in Wales. And don't say its to do with the R level, because apparently we have the lowest in the UK.

Five trips to England to get a tooth fixed...and yes we can travel because in Wales you can travel to visit health services not available locally.

And Drakeford's got much of the population of Wales thinking this sort of thing is normal and sensible?
Give us a break.
My colleague visited a dentist in Bridgend with no issues. Initially, he went to A&E because dentists were closed, but had his tooth extracted Tuesday.

As for scientific evidence that shows that dentistry is safe in England and not in Wales - there is none. Both Governments will be acting on the same scientific advice, but it is down to their interpretation of what can be opened up and what can't. England has regions where the R rate is close to, if not at, 1.0. Wales does not.

A second spike would kill any hopes of opening up over the summer, and that would kill many businesses. My own company is basically saying that a second spike in the autumn or winter will kill us, and they are supportive of the Welsh Government approach.