Nine more people die with coronavirus

Nine more people have died with coronavirus in Wales and more than 600 new positive cases have been identified, latest figures show.

Statistics released by Public Health Wales (PHW) on Tuesday show that 615 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the most recent reporting period.

It brings the number of positive tests since the outbreak began to 102,568, while 2,891 people have died with lab-confirmed coronavirus in Wales.

The infection rate across Wales now stands at 416.5 per 100,000 people based on the seven days up to December 10, which is a drop on 450 per 100,000 reported the previous day.

However Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, explained that the drop in infection rate reflects the new way data was being compiled by the NHS trust.

The number of deaths reported yesterday was nine, with 615 new cases.

The total number of deaths with lab-confirmed coronavirus in Wales is 2,891

Merthyr Tydfil remains the local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales, with a seven-day rate of 822.2 cases per 100,000 population, down on 870 reported the day before.

Neath Port Talbot has the second-highest rate with 742.4 per 100,000 population, down from 770.3.

Bridgend is now third with 659.6 cases per 100,000, down from 698.4.

Rhondda Cynon Taf has the highest number of new cases yesterday with 81, followed by Neath Port Talbot with 58, Bridgend with 56, Swansea with 55, Caerphilly with 52 and Cardiff with 49.