Two more die in Wales with Covid

TWO more people have died in Wales after contracting coronavirus, it has been announced.

Public Health Wales (PHW) confirmed yesterday that the official death toll with lab-confirmed Covid-19 since the outbreak began had now reached 1,540.

The true death toll where Covid-19 was mentioned on a death certificate was 2,438 by June 26, according to the ONS.

In addition, the number of lab-confirmed positive cases of coronavirus in Wales has increased by 16 to bring the total to 15,929.

The number of daily positive cases has been on the decline in recent days, with 13 reported on Wednesday, seven on Tuesday and eight on Monday.

Rhondda Cynon Taf was the local authority with the most cases (three), followed by Gwynedd, the Vale of Glamorgan, and Neath Port Talbot with two.

Caerphilly, Newport, Conwy, Flintshire, Cardiff, Bridgend and Pembrokeshire all had one case, while the other local authority areas in Wales had no new cases.

Even though testing capacity stands at 15,000 each day in Wales, just 2,301 tests were carried out on Wednesday, July 8.

The figures were revealed following a press conference by Education Minister Kirsty Williams, who announced that schools in Wales will be open full-time for all pupils in September.

During the press conference Ms Williams announced £29m of extra funding for the next school year which will go towards providing an extra 600 teachers and 300 teaching assistants.

Meanwhile, she confirmed that parents will not initially be fined if they choose not to send their children back in September.

But she said schools should reach out to parents now to discuss concerns and better understand what reassurance needs to be given.