Hosptial visitors restricted due to positive cases rise

A WELSH health board has restricted visitors at all of its hospitals following a rise in positive Covid-19 cases.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said the decision to temporarily suspend visiting was down to transmission rates within the community and in hospitals.

Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, the counties in the health board area, each had Covid case rates above 600 per 100,000 people when the decision was made. The health board added that visitors would be allowed with prior arrangements in some instances, such as the end of life and critical visits.

Visitors had already been banned from Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, and the health board last month announced it would postpone some routine surgeries due to the rise in cases.

Hywel Dda is the third health board to restrict visitors, following Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Cwm Taf Morgannwg.

The health board has said the situation is being reviewed at regular intervals and a further update will be made to visitor restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so. The health board said visiting arrangements for maternity services would not be affected. The hospitals impacted by these new measures include: Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth; Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen; Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli; Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest.

Figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) published on Monday, November 1, which cover the 48 hours to Sunday morning, show the total number of Covid-related deaths in Wales is now 6,167.

There were also 4,983 new positive cases recorded in the update, bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 442,953.

The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales based on the cases for every 100,000 people (for the seven days up to October 27) now stands at 558.9 – a welcome fall from the high of 719.9 reported last Tuesday.

As of October 29, there were 68 people in invasive ventilated beds in Wales with coronavirus, 10 of which were in Hywel Dda UHB.