One more person has died with coronavirus in Wales, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales.
New data published on Wednesday, March 16, and covering a 24-hour period, shows 1,878 new positive PCR test results to bring the total to 833,509. The total number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test in Wales now stands at 7,051.
The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to March 11 is 279.8 cases for every 100,000 people – a rise from the 263.3 cases recorded on Tuesday. This has been rising steadily for more than a week. 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: The situation with 'Deltacron' in Wales and how much of a concern it is
The area of Wales with the highest infection rate for the seven days up to March 11 was Blaenau Gwent with 393.6 cases per 100,000 population followed by Vale of Glamorgan with 369 and Gwynedd with 329.2.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 24-hour period with 257 followed by RCT with 150, Carmarthenshire with 112, Vale of Glamorgan with 110, Newport with 106, Caerphilly with 103, and Swansea with 102.
Meanwhile Wrexham had 94 new cases, Flintshire had 88, Bridgend had 78, Neath Port Talbot had 68, Blaenau Gwent had 62, Torfaen had 60, Gwynedd had 57, Powys had 55, and Pembrokeshire had 53.
The areas with the lowest new cases reported were Ceredigion with 49, Monmouthshire with 48, Denbighshire with 47, Anglesey with 45, Conwy with 38, and Merthyr Tydfil with 23.
In the seven days to March 11 a total of 31.2% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result – a rise on the 29.8% reported on Tuesday. The highest positivity rates were in Vale of Glamorgan (36.4%), Blaenau Gwent (36.2%), and Flintshire (36.2%).
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As of March 15 there were 13 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19. Seven of them were based in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB), four were in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB, and two were 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 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, also show that Covid rates in hospital are rising. As of March 14 there were 481 patients in acute hospitals with Covid of whom 108 were being treated for the condition.
A total of 2,523,930 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,394,178 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,925,139 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 11:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 393.6 (up from 387.9)
Newport: 284.5 (up from 260.5)
Caerphilly: 246.9 (up from 224.2)
Torfaen: 253.3 (up from 234.1)
Monmouthshire: 269.6 (up from 267.5)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 220.1 (up from 202.2)
Anglesey: 231.3 (up from 191.3)
Gwynedd: 329.2 (up from 307.5)
Denbighshire: 283.2 (up from 266.5)
Flintshire: 300.4 (up from 276.7)
Wrexham: 285.4 (up from 268.5)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 298.2 (up from 285.9)
Vale of Glamorgan: 369 (up from 351.1)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 193.9 (up from 185.7)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 316.7 (up from 284.3)
Bridgend: 231.9 (up from 228.5)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 307.8 (up from 304.1)
Pembrokeshire: 294.1 (up from 279.8)
Ceredigion: 294.4 (up from 269.6)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 235.6 (up from 200.1)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 242.1 (up from 234.4)
Swansea: 210.5 (up from 210.1)
Wales total: 279.8 (up from 263.3 )
The headlines from the latest ONS infection survey published on March 11 suggest the percentage of people testing positive for Covid in Wales increased during the week ending March 5. In the last survey it was estimated 97,900 people in Wales, equivalent to one in 30, had Covid in the week ending March 5. In England the figure was one in 25, in Scotland it was one in 19, and Northern Ireland one in 13. Every part of the UK has seen a rise in the last week.
The latest data on lateral flow tests, for the week to March 6, also show an increase in positive tests. There were 12,288 positive test results reported in the last seven days. That's up substantially from 9,255 the previous week.
The percentage of LFT tests that produced positive results increased from 8.49% to 10.88%. The highest LFT incidence rate was in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area with 467.5 positive tests for every 100,000 people – way up on the 349.5 in the previous week.
First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced 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.
