One more people has died with coronavirus in Wales according to latest figures published by Public Health Wales.
New data released on Monday, February 21, and covering a 24-hour period to 9am on Friday, February 18, shows 1,114 new positive cases, bringing the total to 808,210. The data for Friday, Saturday and Sunday will all be published tomorrow (Tuesday, February 22) as PHW has stopped publishing figures at weekends.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive in Wales has now risen to 6,944.
The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to February 14 now stands at 275.3 cases for every 100,000 people – a reduction from the 290.9 cases recorded on Friday. Thursday was the first time the infection rate had gone below 300 since August 2021.
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.
The latest data on lateral flow tests, published last Thursday for the week to February 12, show there have been a further 16,905 positive test results reported. That's down from 18,690 the previous week. Positivity also decreased from 11.87% to 10.24%. The highest incidence rate was in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area with 680.2 positive tests for every 100,000 people.
The area of Wales with the highest infection rate for the seven days up to February 14 was Ceredigion with 436.1 followed by Cardiff with 350.2 and Carmarthenshire with 349.1.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 24-hour period with 186 followed by Swansea with 92, RCT with 84, Carmarthenshire with 65, Flintshire with 62, Bridgend with 53, and Pembrokeshire and Vale of Glamorgan both with 46.
Meanwhile Neath Port Talbot had 44 new cases, Denbighshire had 39, Wrexham had 35, Powys and Ceredigion had 34 apiece, and Newport, Torfaen and Gwynedd had 31 each.
The areas with the lowest new cases reported were Monmouthshire with 28, Caerphilly with 25, Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil with 19 each and Anglesey with 15.
In the seven days to February 14 a total of 26.6% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result, a fall on the 27.1% reported on Friday. The highest positivity rates were in Ceredigion (30.5%), Cardiff (30.1%), and Swansea (30%).
As of February 18 there were 17 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19. This is less than half of the Omicron wave peak of 39 on January 5.
New figures are also being published showing the number of people being specifically treated for Covid rather than testing positive for the virus but being in hospital for other reasons. As of February 18 out of 345 patients in acute hospitals with Covid there were only 89 people actively being treated for Covid in Wales.
A total of 2,518,094 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,381,764 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,890,888 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 February 14:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 304.9 (up from 300.6)
Newport: 250.8 (down from 257.3)
Caerphilly: 204.9 (down from 221.5)
Torfaen: 287.4 (down from 293.7)
Monmouthshire: 275.9 (down from 287.6)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 266.2 (up from 265.4)
Anglesey: 218.4 (down from 248.4)
Gwynedd: 251.3 (down from 283.4)
Denbighshire: 247.7 (down from 261.2)
Flintshire: 267.1 (down from 286.4)
Wrexham: 242 (down from 275.1)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 350.2 (down from 365.8)
Vale of Glamorgan: 280.7 (down from 296.4)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 220.5 (down from 243.7)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 230.9 (down from 238.7)
Bridgend: 199.9 (down from 208.8)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 349.1 (down from 384.1)
Pembrokeshire: 264.7 (down from 282.9)
Ceredigion: 436.1 (down from 467.7)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 263.5 (down from 269.6)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 261 (up from 254)
Swansea: 279.4 (down from 298.8)
Wales total: 275.3 (down from 290.9)
The headlines from the latest ONS infection survey published at 2pm on Wednesday, February 16, suggest the percentage of people testing positive for Covid in Wales decreased during the week ending February 12.
It estimated 112,600 people in Wales, equivalent to one in 25, had Covid in the week ending February 12. In England it was one in 20 people. In Scotland one in 25 people had Covid in the same week, the same as Wales, while in Northern Ireland it was around one in 13.
The legal requirement to show a Covid pass to enter certain venues and events has now been lifted in Wales and from Monday, February 28, face coverings will no longer need to be worn in all indoor public places. Schools will be able to set their own rules from the same date. You can read the full list of changes here.
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