A SOCIAL care leader is calling for a tightening of the rules for visiting care homes in west Wales to save lives in the run-up to Christmas.

Mario Kreft, the Chair of Care Forum Wales, is urging the Welsh Government to step up the programme of booster jabs for care workers.

It was clear, he said, that Omicron was far more transmissible than previous variants and would soon overtake Delta to become the dominant strain.

The cautious approach taken so far by the Welsh Government had been ‘eminently sensible’, but a more rigorous approach was now needed.

“Our first and overwhelming priority is to ensure the vulnerable people for whom we provide care and our wonderful workforce are kept safe,” said Mr Kreft.

“We are calling on the Welsh Government to look at the rules. We want to keep homes open safely but we need to do that in a very measured and responsible way.

“We have a new enemy in the Omicron variant which is spreading at a scarily rapid rate with the number of infections doubling every two days.

“It is possible we may need to close down for a week or a fortnight so I think the advice would be to get to see your loved ones as early as possible because we just don’t know where this virus is going.

“It would be absurd for me to pretend that everything is going to be fine. Over the next few weeks we could be overwhelmed.

“The people working at the front line have been heroic. They’re worn out, they’re jaded but they are doing the best they can to keep people safe.

“We want to see that everything that can possibly be done to make sure that the booster is rolled out right across the country, especially to those who are caring for the vulnerable.

“What we now have to do is work with our partners in government and local health boards to ensure that people working on the front line get those jabs as soon as possible.”