Seven more people have died with coronavirus, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales. New data published on Monday, April 4 and covering a 24-hour period, also shows 1,485 new positive PCR test results to bring the total since the pandemic began to 865,029.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test in Wales now stands at 7,179. The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to March 28 is 414.1 cases for every 100,000 people – a fall from the 443.6 cases recorded on Friday.
The infection rate based on PCR tests is only a guide to the spread of Covid in Wales as it does not include lateral flow test results which are reported weekly in Wales. People with no symptoms who test positive on an LFT no longer need a confirmatory PCR test.
Read more: What are the rules on Covid testing? When should you send children to school? How can you get tests?
The latest data on lateral flow tests, for the week to March 27, shows an increase in positive tests. There were 32,465 positive test results reported in the last seven days. That's up from 30,712 the previous week and the highest weekly figure ever recorded. The episode positivity rate increased from 22.83% in the previous week to 24.37% in the latest reporting week. Powys Teaching Health Board recorded the highest incidence rate of 1,135.1 positive testing episodes per 100,000 population.
In the seven days to March 28 a total of 39.3% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result – a rise on the 39.2% reported on Friday. The highest positivity rates were in Blaenau Gwent (47.4%), Torfaen (43.5%), and Cardiff (42.3%). The highest infection rate (based on PCR tests) for the seven days up to March 26 was Blaenau Gwent with 638.4 cases per 100,000 population followed by Torfaen with 507.7 and Merthyr Tydfil with 500.6.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 24-hour period with 139 followed by Rhondda Cynon Taf with 138, Newport with 92, Carmarthenshire with 73, Caerphilly with 72, Vale of Glamorgan with 71, Swansea with 65, and Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen both with 61.
Meanwhile Gwynedd had 58 new cases, Neath Port Talbot had 56, Powys had 55, Bridgend had 52, Monmouthshire and Flintshire both had 51, Denbighshire had 50, Conwy had 48, and Pembrokeshire had 45.
The local authorities with the lowest case numbers were Anglesey with and Merthyr Tydfil both with 38, Wrexham with 33, and Ceredigion with 32.
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As of April 1 there were 16 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19 – one less than the day before. Nine of them were based in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB), three were in Swansea Bay UHB, three were in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB and one was in Hywel Dda UHB.
Figures are also being published showing the number of people in hospital being specifically treated for Covid rather than testing positive for the virus but being in hospital for other reasons. They show that as of April 1 there were 738 patients in acute hospitals with confirmed Covid of whom 106 (14%) were being treated for the condition. That figure has remained relatively static in the last week.
A total of 2,532,759 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,402,290 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,942,627 people have been given their booster jabs in Wales.
Infection rate for every 100,000 people in each area for the seven days up to March 28:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 628.4 (down from 701.4)
Newport: 430.6 (down from 465.5)
Caerphilly: 416.4 (down from 429.7)
Torfaen: 507.7 (up from 503.4)
Monmouthshire: 408.1 (down from 458.8)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 349.8 (down from 351.5)
Anglesey: 428.3 (down from 479.7)
Gwynedd: 382.9 (down from 408.6)
Denbighshire: 478.6 (down from 520.4)
Flintshire: 408.1 (down from 429.9)
Wrexham: 431.8 (down from 479.6)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 460.6 (down from 478.1)
Vale of Glamorgan: 482.8 (down from 526.2)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 500.6 (down from 523.8)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 424 (down from 456.8)
Bridgend: 362.5 (down from 383.5)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 374 (down from 422.7)
Pembrokeshire: 392.6 (down from 448.3)
Ceredigion: 354.9 (down from 392)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 365.5 (down from 402.5)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 333.5 (down from 339.1)
Swansea: 303.2 (down from 324.7)
Wales total: 414.4 (down from 443.6)
The Office for National Statistics infection survey, published on Friday, April 1, shows cases are still increasing. It estimates that 212,000 people in Wales – or around 1 in 14 – had Covid the week ending March 26. In England it was one in 13, in Scotland it was one in 12, and Northern Ireland it was one in 15.
Since Monday, March 28, people no longer have to wear masks in shops or on public transport in Wales but they are still needed in hospitals and healthcare settings. The Welsh Government decided not to relax all restrictions on that date, as it had hoped to do, as cases continued to rise in Wales.
The legal requirement to self-isolate has also been scrapped and instead people are now asked to stay inside if they test positive but it is no longer the law that they must do so. Businesses must still complete risk assessments.
Meanwhile on Monday sweeping changes to testing were announced by the Welsh Government which include:
Wednesday, March 30, was the last day the public were able to book a PCR test if they have symptoms of the virus;
From Thursday, March 31, all PCR testing sites in Wales were closed and free lateral flow tests to support regular asymptomatic testing in workplaces ended except for health and social care workers;
Free lateral flow tests for the public for regular asymptomatic testing ended on Thursday, March 31;
From Friday, April 1, if you have Covid symptoms you should use a lateral flow test to check whether you have Covid and from that date only people eligible for Covid-19 treatments will be able to order PCR tests to be done at home;
Routine asymptomatic testing in childcare and education settings, except special education provision, will stop on Friday, April 8.
To understand more about the consequences of this decision please go here.
Meanwhile the NHS has added nine new official Covid symptoms to the list of signs that could indicate you have the virus. The list has been updated to reflect new variants of the virus and the latest understanding of the illness. The advice comes as anyone who suspects they have Covid is asked to stay home for five days to avoid spreading it - though that is not enforced by law.
The new list of symptoms includes the three previously listed - a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and a loss or change to the sense of smell or taste - and adds:
- Shortness of breath
- Feeling tired or exhausted
- An aching body
- A headache
- A sore throat
- A blocked or runny nose
- Loss of appetite
- Diarrhoea
- Feeling sick or being sick
