One more death recorded and 638 new cases are diagnosed
ONE more person has died with coronavirus in Wales and more than 630 new positive cases have been identified, it has been revealed.
Latest figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) for yesterday, October 8, show that 638 new positive cases have been diagnosed following a lab test, a drop on 752 on Wednesday.
The NHS body also said that one new death among people who had tested positive had been reported to them, bringing the total to 1,644.
It means the nation’s infection rate is continuing to rise and is rapidly approaching 100 cases for every 100,000 people in the last seven days.
Merthyr Tydfil currently has the highest rate of infections in Wales with 223.8 cases per 100,000 people based on a rolling sevenday average, up from 200.6 on Wednesday.
Rhondda Cynon Taf follows at 176.6 per 100,000 of population, down from 178.2 the day before.
The other local authority areas recording more than 100 cases per 100,000 included Flintshire with 144.1, Swansea with 133.6, Wrexham with 132.4, Bridgend with 131.2, Cardiff with 120.7 and Denbighshire with 101.4.
The Wales overall infection rate is 95.1 per 100,000, which is up on 92.6 recorded the day before.
Around 2.35m people are now in local lockdowns across Denbighshire, Flintshire, Conwy, Wrexham, Cardiff, Swansea, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly borough, Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Newport, Neath Port Talbot, the Vale of Glamorgan and Torfaen.
These are the key details on Thursday:
■ Deaths reported today: 1
■ Cases reported today: 638 (down from 752 on Wednesday)
■ Number of tests carried out yesterday: 9,966 (down from 10,518 on Wednesday)
■ Total deaths with labconfirmed coronavirus in Wales: 1,644
■ Cardiff reported the highest number of new cases on Thursday with 88, followed by RCT with 62, Swansea with 48, Caerphilly with 39, Bridgend with 38, Wrexham and Merthyr Tydfil with 37, Flintshire with 36, and Neath Port Talbot with 24.
■ Other local authorities in double figures included Carmarthenshire with 19, Denbighshire with 17, Conwy with 15, Powys with 12 and Torfaen with 10.
■ Meanwhile, Newport, Gwynedd, Vale of Glamorgan and Blaenau Gwent had nine, Ceredigion and Monmouthshire had five, Pembrokeshire had four and Anglesey had three.
There were 94 cases from people outside Wales included in the figures, which Public Health Wales said referred to mainly young people with Welsh home addresses but who were currently living outside Wales.
These are the areas with the highest sevenday rolling totals for new cases (September 29 to October 5). All figures are reported as cases adjusted for population (per 100,000 people):
ANEURIN BEVAN UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
■ Blaenau Gwent: 83 (Down)
■ Newport: 45.3 (Down)
■ Torfaen: 58.5 (Down)
■ Caerphilly: 60.2 (Up)
■ Monmouthshire: 30.7 (Down)
BETSI CADWALADR UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
■ Flintshire: 144.1 (Up)
■ Wrexham: 132.4 (Up)
■ Conwy: 63.1 (Down)
■ Denbighshire: 101.4 (Up)
■ Gwynedd: 82.7 (Up)
■ Anglesey: 21.4 (Down)
CARDIFF AND VALE UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
■ Cardiff: 120.7 (Up)
■ Vale of Glamorgan: 56.9 (Down)
CWM TAF MORGANNWG UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
■ Merthyr Tydfil: 223.8 (Up)
■ Rhondda Cynon Taf: 176.6 (Down)
■ Bridgend: 131.2 (Up)
HYWEL DDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
■ Carmarthenshire: 53.5 (Down)
■ Ceredigion: 44 (Up)
■ Pembrokeshire: 23 (Up)
POWYS TEACHING HEALTH BOARD
■ Powys: 31 (Up) SWANSEA BAY UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD
■ Swansea: 133.6 (Up)
■ Neath Port Talbot: 98.4 (Up)
■ Wales overall: 95.1 (Up)
Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Please don’t delay in booking a test if you or a member of your household develop symptoms, however mild, such as a cough, fever or change in sense of taste or smell.
“You must book a test promptly to help control the spread of infection. Visit www.gov.uk/getcoronavirus-test or call 119. Tests are free.
“You and your household must self-isolate while waiting for the result of your test, and comply with any restrictions in the event of a positive result. If you test positive you should continue to self-isolate for 10 days.”