No new deaths – but 50 new cases confirmed in latest virus update
WALES has recorded no new coronavirus deaths and just over 50 positive cases in the most recent update.
The latest figures from Public Health Wales, published yesterday, recorded 54 new positive cases to bring the total since the pandemic began to 211,692.
Because of the bank holiday weekend, today’s update covers a 48-hour period from 9am on Sunday, May 2 until 9am on Tuesday, May 4, so is equivalent to just 25 new cases each day.
No new coronavirus deaths means the overall death toll within a month of a positive Covid-19 test remains at 5,551 in Wales. Fewer than one person a day in Wales is now dying with coronavirus.
The infection rate across Wales now stands at 10.1 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days up to April 28 – a drop from 10.5 on Tuesday.
The infection rate is now as low as it was at the end of August last summer.
On average, over the past week 13 people were taken into hospital every day with coronavirus. That is lower than it was in early August 2020, at the end of the first wave, when 43 people were still being taken into hospital every day with Covid-19.
Just two people are currently occupying invasive ventilated beds in Welsh critical care units, a significant drop on the 164 seen during the April 2020 peak.
The percentage of tests coming back with positive results is now 1.1% – well below the key benchmark of 5%.
Cardiff, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire reported the joint most new virus cases on Wednesday with seven, followed by Wrexham and RCT with five and Powys with four.
Newport and Gwynedd both had three new cases, while Monmouthshire, Flintshire, and Neath Port Talbot had two.
Caerphilly, Vale of Glamorgan, Bridgend, Conwy and Ceredigion had one case each, and Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Anglesey, Denbighshire, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea had none.
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “As of yesterday, Monday, May 3, further relaxation of the regulations came into place, meaning that Wales is now in Alert Level 3.
“Two households can again form an exclusive extended household ‘bubble’, and can spend time indoors together. Supervised indoor activities for children can resume, along with indoor organised activities for up to 15 adults (such as exercise classes and swimming lessons), and community centres can reopen.
“People should observe social distancing when meeting with others from outside their household or bubble.
“We would remind the general public that it is still extremely important to follow social distancing and hygiene measures to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.
“That is, staying 2m from anyone you don’t live with, washing hands regularly and wearing face coverings in indoor settings.”