No new Covid deaths recorded for third time in just a week

WALES has reported no new deaths related to coronavirus for the third time this week.

According to the data published by Public Health Wales yesterday, there were no Covid-19 related deaths in the latest 24-hour period up to Saturday morning. This follows no new deaths reported on Monday and Tuesday this week.

There have been 171 new positive cases in the latest 24-hour period, which brings the total number of people to have tested positive for coronavirus in Wales since the outbreak began to 209,066.

The total number of people to have died in the country within a month of testing positive for the virus now stands at 5,505.

The infection rate across Wales is now 37.8 per 100,000 people, based on the seven days up to March 23 - the rate is down slightly from 38.5 on Saturday. Meanwhile, the percentage of tests coming back with positive results is now 2.8%, below the key benchmark of 5%.

The latest figures, published on Sunday afternoon, also show that 1,387,583 have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 412,663 have had both doses.

Uptake of the first vaccine dose by priority group (according to PHW): ■ Care home residents: 12,264 (96.2%)

■ Care home workers: 33,442 (88.2%)

■ Healthcare workers: 130,017 (91.2%)

■ Social care workers: 43,205 (no percentage available)

■ 80 years and older: 166,456 (94.9%)

■ 75-79 years: 127,326 (95.5%)

■ 70-74 years: 174,418 (94.9%)

■ Clinically extremely vulnerable 16-69 years: 74,590 (91.4%)

■ 65-69 years: 167,329 (92.8%)

■ Clinical risk groups 16-64 years: 272,089 (77.7%)

■ 60-64 years: 180,431 (87.8%)

■ 55-59 years: 167,331 (71.7%)

■ 50-54 years: 106,310 (46.7%)

Swansea was the county with the highest number of new cases confirmed on Sunday with 28, followed by Cardiff with 24, Neath Port Talbot with 19, Anglesey with 11 and Gwynedd with 10.

All other counties had fewer than 10 new cases, including Torfaen, Caerphilly, Merthyr Tydfil and Denbighshire with seven, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Conwy and Pembrokeshire with six, Blaenau Gwent, Monmouthshire, Vale of Glamorgan and Newport with four, Bridgend and Carmarthenshire with three, Wrexham with two, while Flintshire, Ceredigion and Powys all had one new case.

Cases per 100,000 based on seven-day rolling average (March 17 to March 23):

■ Merthyr Tydfil: 134.3 (down from 139.2)

■ Anglesey: 114.2 (up from 98.5)

■ Swansea: 62.3 (up from 53.8)

■ Flintshire: 57.7 (down from 62.1)

■ Blaenau Gwent: 54.4 (down from 63.0)

■ Neath Port Talbot: 50.2 (up from 48.1)

■ Newport: 49.1 (unchanged)

■ Conwy: 41.8 (down from 51.2)

■ Caerphilly: 37.0 (down from 40.3)

■ Gwynedd: 33.7 (up from 32.1)

■ Cardiff: 32.2 (down from 33.8)

■ Vale of Glamorgan: 28.4 (down from 31.4)

■ Carmarthenshire: 25.4 (down from 28.6)

■ Wrexham: 23.5 (down from 24.3)

■ Pembrokeshire: 23.0 (down from 24.6)

■ Monmouthshire: 21.1 (up from 20.1)

■ Rhondda Cynon Taf: 20.7 (down from 22.8)

■ Powys: 20.4 (unchanged)

■ Torfaen: 20.2 (up from 19.2)

■ Denbighshire: 19.9 (down from 21.9)

■ Bridgend: 17.7 (up from 17.0)

■ Ceredigion: 4.1 (unchanged)

■ All-wales average: 37.8 (down from 38.5)