Under-19s make up half of positive cases

THE scale of the Covid wave ripping through school-age children in Wales is laid bare in the latest Welsh coronavirus figures.

Just under half of the cases being diagnosed in Wales are being found in children aged 0-10 and older teenagers aged 10-19.

The percentage of tests coming back positive has also rocketed to hit 42% in the 10-19 age group. In comparison, the positivity rate for all tests in Wales is around 20.1% at the moment.

It means those of school and college age make up a huge proportion of confirmed cases in Wales.

There have been 7,736 cases in young people aged 18 and under in the last week and 9,601 cases in people aged 20 to over 100.

The number of confirmed cases in all age groups has increased over the past two weeks, apart from in those aged over 80.

It’s important to note that most children are generally not falling ill with the virus and many don’t even display symptoms.

Some top doctors have called for an end to routine testing of children.

The Aneurin Bevan University Health Board region has been particularly badly affected by Covid in the past two weeks.

In the six days to October 13 the health board recorded 455 cases in school settings, with 160 of those in Newport alone.

That is not an unusual number in comparison to the rest of Wales, however, as Betsi Cadwaladr UHB confirmed 667 cases in schools in the same period, and Swansea Bay UHB recorded 342.

More than nine in 10 schools in Wales have reported Covid cases since this term began with fewer Covid infection measures in place, according to the latest available data published on October 13.

With more than 39,000 cases in total tens of thousands of children have missed lessons.