One further death with Covid and 28 positive cases

WALES has recorded one new coronavirus death and 28 positive cases in the past 24 hours, it has been revealed.

The new data, published by Public Health Wales yesterday, brings the overall number of positive cases since the pandemic began in Wales to 212,582.

However, the number of cases of the Indian variant of concern has been rising and is up to 57 cases of VOC-21APR-02 as of Tuesday.

The seven-day infection rate across Wales now stands at 8.9, based on the number of new infections confirmed per 100,000 population in the week up to May 21, a rise on the 8.6 reported on Tuesday.

Much of the rise can be attributed to the county of Bridgend which saw its infection rate increase from 12.2 to 18.4 per 100,000.

Monmouthshire now has the highest seven-day infection rate of anywhere in Wales with 20.1 per 100,000, followed by Bridgend with 18.4 and Newport with 15.5.

The overall Covid death toll in Wales since the start of the pandemic has now risen to 5,567 people.

The percentage of Covid tests coming back with a positive result is 1%, significantly below the key benchmark of 5%.

The figure has been fluctuating around the same level for the last four weeks.

Hospital admissions remain low. An average of 16 people a day are being admitted to hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19.

And the number of general and acute hospital beds occupied by “confirmed” Covid-19 patients was down to nine on Tuesday, May 25.

Aneurin Bevan UHB had the most with three, followed by Cardiff and Vale UHB and Hywel Dda UHB with two, and Swansea Bay UHB and Betsi Cadwaladr UHB with one.

To put this into context, NHS staff were dealing with upwards of 1,600 confirmed patients during late December and January and were struggling to cope.

There were four Covid patients in an invasive ventilated bed in intensive care on May 25, in Cardiff and Vale UHB, Swansea Bay UHB, Aneurin Bevan UHB and Betsi Cadwaladr UHB. At the height of the first wave of the pandemic in April, 2020, there were as many as 164 coronavirus patients needing the highest level of breathing support in intensive care.

Last weekend, Wales reached the impressive milestone of fully vaccinating one million adults.

Wrexham reported the most new cases on Wednesday with four, followed by Denbighshire, Cardiff, Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot with three.

Carmarthenshire reported one new case and Swansea had none.