Two more people have died with coronavirus, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales. New data published on Thursday, March 24, and covering a 24-hour period, also show 2,743 new positive PCR test results to bring the total to 849,797.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test in Wales now stands at 7,092. The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to March 19 is 424.2 cases for every 100,000 people – a rise from the 416.1 cases recorded on Wednesday. Tuesday was the first time the infection rate had gone above 400 since the seven days between January 31 and February 6.
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, for the week to March 20, shows a massive increase in positive tests. There were 30,712 positive test results reported in the last seven days. That's up substantially from 21,212 the previous week and the highest weekly figure ever recorded.
