Five more people have died with coronavirus, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales. New data published on Tuesday, March 22, and covering a 72-hour period, show 4,909 new positive PCR test results to bring the total to 845,179.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test in Wales now stands at 7,075. The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to March 17 is 403 cases for every 100,000 people – a rise from the 335 cases recorded on Monday. It's the first time the infection rate has 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 13, also show an increase in positive tests. There were 21,212 positive test results reported in the last seven days. That's up substantially from 12,288 the previous week.
Read more: The reasons why Covid infection rates are rising again in Wales
Infection rates in every area of Wales have risen with the highest infection rate (based on PCR tests) for the seven days up to March 17 being Blaenau Gwent with 639.8 cases per 100,000 population followed by Vale of Glamorgan with 494.8 and Wrexhamn with 453.8.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 72-hour period with 534 followed by RCT with 391, Swansea with 291, Flintshire with 284, Caerphilly with 281, Newport with 264, and Carmarthenshire with 263.
Meanwhile Wrexham had 248 new cases, Vale of Glamorgan had 202, Gwynedd had 189, Bridgend had 175, Powys with 174, Monmouthshire had 172, Torfaen and Conwy both had 170, Pembrokeshire had 166, and Neath Port Talbot and Denbighshire both had 164. The local authorities with the lowest cases included Blaenau Gwent with 149, Anglesey with 108, Merthyr Tydfil with 90, and Ceredigion with 89.
In the seven days to March 17 a total of 37.1% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result – a rise on the 34.2% reported on Monday. The highest positivity rates were in Blaenau Gwent (44.4%), Vale of Glamorgan (40.4%), and RCT (39.8%).
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As of March 21 there were 14 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19, down from 16 on March 18. Six of them were based in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB), four were in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB, two were in Swansea Bay UHB, and one was in Hywel Dda UHB. The fall in ICU numbers seen at the start of the year has stopped and fluctuated at around the same level for the last month.
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 March 21 there were 688 patients in acute hospitals with confirmed Covid of whom 130 were being treated for the condition – a rise from 103 on March 20.
A total of 2,525,768 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,396,378 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,929,743 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 17:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 639.8 (up from 513.3)
Newport: 426.1 (up from 333.6)
Caerphilly: 397.6 (up from 291)
Torfaen: 440.6 (up from 325.7)
Monmouthshire: 413.4 (up from 336.2)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 343 (up from 266.2)
Anglesey: 346.9 (up from 304.1)
Gwynedd: 438.3 (up from 386.2)
Denbighshire: 413.8 (up from 349)
Flintshire: 412.6 (up from 356.8)
Wrexham: 453.8 (up from 375.1)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 420.8 (up from 362.8)
Vale of Glamorgan: 494.8 (up from 428.9)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 278.5 (up from 220.5)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 435.6 (up from 378)
Bridgend: 315.5 (up from 262.5)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 401.5 (up from 354.4)
Pembrokeshire: 425.2 (up from 356.9)
Ceredigion: 448.4 (up from 364.5)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 369.2 (up from 301.3)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 295.2 (up from 246.3)
Swansea: 298 (up from 240.9)
Wales total: 403 (up from 335 )
On Tuesday health minister Eluned Morgan warned that the BA.2 subtype of Omicron, which is more transmissible and faster-moving than the original Omicron variant, is behind the spike in cases. "We believe the clinical severity of the BA.2 subtype is similar to the original variant of Omicron, which thankfully for most people will mean they will experience mild symptoms. But this doesn't mean that everyone will have a mild illness," she said. "We are watching the levels of illness in older people very carefully. And there has been a spike in hospital admissions in all age groups over the last couple of weeks."
First Minister Mark Drakeford announced earlier this month that all legal Covid measures in Wales could be removed by March 28. He said Wales will remain at alert level zero for the time being but legal requirements could go following a review on March 24 if the public health situation remains "stable".
If it does it means that on March 28 it will no longer be compulsory to wear face coverings in shops, on public transport, or in healthcare settings from that date and self-isolation will not be required by law. However plans for similar measures in Scotland to take effect from March 21 have now been pushed back due to a rise in Covid cases. And on Tuesday Mr Drakeford cast doubt on the remaining laws in Wales being allowed to lapse before the end of March, saying the Welsh Government faced a "challenging decision".
The First Minister told BBC Wales: "Up until last week we had more or less eight weeks in a row with the numbers moving in the right direction and that formed the backcloth to the hope that on March 28 we could lift all restrictions." But he said all options had to remain on the table with a decision due later in the week..
