Six more people have died with coronavirus according to latest figures from Public Health Wales.
New data published on Wednesday, March 9, and covering a 24-hour period, also shows 1,141 new positive cases to bring the total to 822,937.
The number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test now stands at 7,039.
Read more: Covid cases are rising again in many parts of the UK
The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to March 4 is now 184.9 cases for every 100,000 people – a rise from the 178 cases recorded on Tuesday.
However 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 February 27, show there have been a further 9,255 positive test results reported. That's down from 11,350 the previous week. Positivity also increased slightly from 8.23% to 8.49%. The highest incidence rate was in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area with 349.5 positive tests for every 100,000 people.
The area of Wales with the highest infection rate for the seven days up to March 4 was Blaenau Gwent with 269.1 cases per 100,000 population followed by Vale of Glamorgan with 255.3 and Carmarthenshire with 242.6.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 24-hour period with 122, followed by RCT with 116, Swansea with 82, Vale of Glamorgan with 69, Carmarthenshire with 67, and Newport with 63.
Meanwhile Caerphilly had 59 new cases, Gwynedd had 54, Bridgend had 50, Wrexham had 48, Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire both had 45, Flintshire had 41, Ceredigion had 37, Denbighshire had 35, and Blaenau Gwent had 34.
The areas with the lowest new cases reported were Conwy and Powys both with 28, Monmouthshire with 27, Torfaen with 26, Anglesey with 14, and Merthyr Tydfil with 13.
In the seven days to March 4 a total of 23.3% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result, a rise on the 23% reported on Tuesday. The highest positivity rates were in Vale of Glamorgan (28.5%), Cardiff (27.5%) and Blaenau Gwent (27.1%).
As of March 8 there were 12 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19. Nine of them were based in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, two were in Hywel Dda UHB and one was in Aneurin Bevan UHB. This is well below 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 March 3 out of 433 patients in acute hospitals with Covid there were only 75 people actively being treated for Covid in Wales (20%).
A total of 2,522,311 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,390,625 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,915,708 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 4:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 269.1 (up from 247.6)
Newport: 164.9 (up from 162.3)
Caerphilly: 163.5 (up from 156.8)
Torfaen: 147.9 (up from 140.5)
Monmouthshire: 194.5 (up from 175.5)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 173.2 (down from 176.6)
Anglesey: 119.9 (down from 132.8)
Gwynedd: 191.1 (up from 180.6)
Denbighshire: 196.5 (up from 179.7)
Flintshire: 189 (up from 188.3)
Wrexham: 175.8 (up from 161.8)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 205.2 (up from 197.3)
Vale of Glamorgan: 255.3 (up from 247)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 112.7 (up from 109.4)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 178.6 (down from 180.3)
Bridgend: 132.6 (up from 119)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 242.6 (up from 234.1)
Pembrokeshire: 198.7 (up from 182)
Ceredigion: 143.1 (down from 145.8)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 151.8 (up from 145.7)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 182.8 (up from 177.9)
Swansea: 171.7 (up from 163.2)
Wales total: 184.9 (up from 178)
The headlines from the latest ONS infection survey published on March 4 suggest the percentage of people testing positive for Covid in Wales decreased during the week ending February 26. It means cases in Wales have fallen for the third week in a row.
It estimated 94,200 people in Wales, equivalent to one in 30, had Covid in the week ending February 26. This was the same as England. However, Scotland has seen an increase with one in 19 having Covid in the last week for which data is available. Northern Ireland continues to have the highest rates of Covid in the UK, although rates are decreasing.
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 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.
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