No new deaths but concerns over Indian variant

WALES has recorded no new coronavirus deaths but more than 60 new positive cases in the latest daily update.

Latest data published by Public Health Wales (PHW) yesterday recorded 64 more positive cases to bring the total number since the pandemic began to 211,042.

The country’s overall number of lab-confirmed coronavirus deaths remains at 5,542.

The infection rate across Wales now stands at 15.2 cases per 100,000 people for the seven days up to April 16 – a drop from 15.4 on Tuesday.

However there are now concerns around an Indian variant of coronavirus which has been found in eight people in Wales to date. It is understood that all eight cases were people who had either returned from India or were their “close household contacts”.

Meanwhile the percentage of tests coming back with positive results remains at 1.7% – significantly below the key benchmark of 5%.

The latest figures also show that 1,712,372 people have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 622,513 people have had both doses.

Cardiff was the local authority reporting the most cases on Wednesday with 10 followed by Newport and Bridgend with seven, Swansea with six, and Neath Port Talbot with five.

Caerphilly had four new cases, Monmouthshire, Gwynedd and Wrexham had three, Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen, Anglesey, Flintshire, Carmarthenshire and Powys had two, and Vale of Glamorgan and Ceredigion had one. Conwy, Denbighshire, Merthyr Tydfil, RCT, and Pembrokeshire had no new cases.