More than 3,000 new cases as infection rate jumps in Wales

A FURTHER 13 people have died with coronavirus, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales (PHW).

The data published yesterday also revealed there were 3,450 new positive cases, bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 408,294. The 13 new additional deaths recorded bring the overall toll within 28 days of a positive Covid test to 6,050 in Wales.

The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales based on the cases for every 100,000 people (seven days up to October 15) now stands at 617 – a sharp rise from the 585.1 reported on Tuesday.

Wales has by far the highest Covid infection rate in the UK. In comparison, Scotland’s seven-day infection rate is 311.1, England’s is 436.2 and Northern Ireland’s is 478.5. The rate of people being taken into hospital with Covid also appears to be starting to rise.

The local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales is Torfaen with 878 cases per 100,000 population over seven days, followed by Blaenau Gwent with 861.7 and Cardiff with 795.3. Test positivity rates across Wales have risen to 21.2%, meaning more than a fifth of all those getting tests are coming back positive.

The areas of the country recording the highest numbers of Covid cases in the latest 24-hour period were Cardiff with 320, Swansea with 299, Caerphilly with 235, Carmarthenshire with 233, Vale of Glamorgan with 218 and Rhondda Cynon Taf with 209.

Neath Port Talbot had 198 new cases, Torfaen had 176, Newport had 173, Blaenau Gwent had 146, Pembrokeshire had 107 and Bridgend had 110. The local authorities with the lowest numbers of cases included Wrexham with 98, Monmouthshire with 90, Powys with 85, Gwynedd with 81, Conwy with 78, Denbighshire with 76, Flintshire with 68, Merthyr Tydfil with 56, Ceredigion with 47 and Anglesey with 37.