NO NEW DEATHS, INFECTION RATE FALLS AGAIN

WALES recorded no new deaths and 94 new cases of coronavirus in the past 48 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 212,796. Cases of the Indian variant of concern – also known as VOC-21APR-02 – were last updated on Thursday, May 27, when there were 58 in Wales.

There was no reporting of coronavirus figures on May 31 due to the bank holiday, this means that the figures published today account for the past 48 hours.

The seven-day infection rate across Wales now stands at 8, based on the number of new infections confirmed per 100,000 population in the week up to May 27, a drop on the 8.6 reported on Sunday.

Bridgend remains the local authority with the most cases per 100,000 at 21.8 (down from 28.6), which is thought to be mainly down to clusters being found in schools.

The overall Covid death toll in Wales since the start of the pandemic remains at 5,569 people. The percentage of Covid tests coming back with a positive result is 0.9%, significantly below the key benchmark of 5%. The figure has been fluctuating around the same level for the past four weeks.

Public Health Wales said a total of 2,147,274 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have now been given in Wales.

The agency said 1,118,396 second doses have also been administered.

Cardiff recorded the most new Covid cases with 15, followed by Conwy with nine and Denbighshire and Wrexham each reporting seven. Swansea reported six new cases, while Newport reported five new cases. Pembrokeshire and Neath Port Talbot each reported four new cases and Flintshire, Gwynedd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion each reported three new cases.

Monmouthshire reported two new cases while Torfaen, Powys and the Vale of Glamorgan each reported one new case. Blaenau Gwent, Anglesey, Caerphilly and Merthyr Tydfil reported no new cases.

Wales’ chief medical officer Dr Frank Atherto said that while nearly all health boards had cases of the Indian variant of concern, the majority were concentrated in Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan.