Whilst we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation, Neath Port Talbot Council has a set of well-established procedures for responding to a range of emergency situations, one of which is the outbreak of infectious diseases.
We are putting business continuity plans in place to support our local communities across the county borough as we face this challenge together in the coming weeks and months.
We are working hard to ensure we are as well-placed as we can be to deliver priority services as the situation develops further.
Public Health Wales is leading on the response to Coronavirus in Wales and we are closely following the advice we are given by them and the Welsh Government. This includes guidance and information relating to schools.
Our web page: www.npt.gov.uk/coronavirus will include links to this advice and information, as well as related updates from Neath Port Talbot Council.
We are anticipating potentially significant disruption to our services in the foreseeable future and we will be making sure that we clearly communicate any changes in service delivery as and when they happen via this page.
Our focus will be on our most vulnerable residents and the resilience of critical services such as adult social care. There are many people within this group that we are already in contact with through our social services teams. We are also monitoring the UK Government advice being given regarding the wider population, particularly those aged 70+. We are aware that media coverage around this has caused concern, however a decision around this has not yet been confirmed. We will act accordingly when government advice is forthcoming.
This is a very fast-moving situation and I want to underline that we must all take responsibility for staying up to date and observing the latest official government advice. It is particularly important at this time that we follow advice and seek information from trusted sources in order to respond to the challenge that we are facing.
Whilst social media is a useful tool that the Council and its partners are using to share consistent and accurate messaging, we are also seeing that it is equally effective at spreading disinformation and unsubstantiated rumour. So I would again reiterate the importance of monitoring messages from the key public sector bodies, namely Public Health Wales and the Welsh and UK governments, all of which are linked to from our dedicated web page.
Cllr Rob Jones,
Leader of Neath Port Talbot Council
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