Wales' health minister has confirmed that a subtype of Omicron is causing Covid to "spread quickly in all parts of the country and in all age groups". Eluned Morgan said that the BA.2 lineage is more transmissible and faster moving than the original Omicron variant and is causing a spike in cases.
Public Health Wales (PHW) figures show that the seven-day infection rate based on positive PCR tests has now soared above 400 cases per 100,000 population, with some local authorities - such as Blaenau Gwent - seeing in excess of 600 cases per 100,000.
Speaking at the Welsh Government's coronavirus press briefing on Tuesday, Ms Morgan said she had expected to see a rise in cases as restrictions were eased, but she admitted BA.2 is pushing infections up more quickly than expected.
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"Since the end of January, we have seen a steady decline in cases of coronavirus as the winter Omicron wave receded. But we are now, once again, seeing a marked increase in cases across Wales. Coronavirus is spreading quickly in all parts of Wales and in all age groups," she said.
"When the economy minister held a press conference to update you about the outcome of the last three-week review, there were around 160 cases per 100,000 people based on positive PCR tests. Today, that figure has more than doubled.
"This rise is being driven by the BA.2 subtype of the Omicron variant of coronavirus. This is a slightly different form of the virus than the one which caused the huge wave of cases over the Christmas and New Year period. All the signs show it is even more transmissible and faster moving than the original Omicron variant.
"And re-infection rates are high – so even if you've had Covid before, unfortunately it won't mean you are immune to BA.2. We had expected to see a rise in case rates as we gradually relaxed protections but the BA.2 sub-type is pushing infections up rapidly."
According to the latest ONS infection survey, one in 25 people in Wales is infected with Covid. That figure is even higher in other parts of the UK. Ms Morgan said that it is likely that most new cases of Covid-19 are now caused by BA.2 in Wales.
"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.
"There are currently more than 1,200 Covid-19 patients in hospital beds at the moment – this is the highest level we have seen since last March and it is set to rise further. Fortunately, there are low numbers of people in intensive care with Covid-19. And the number of NHS staff who are absent because they have Covid-19 or are self-isolating is also rising. All of this means pandemic pressures on our health service are once again increasing, just at the point when we had hoped to be able to reset and begin a real focus on addressing waiting times."
Ms Morgan added that waning vaccine immunity may be making some groups more vulnerable. "For some older people it will be almost six months since they had their booster vaccine. This is why we started to roll out the spring booster campaign last week, to increase immunity levels in certain age groups," Ms Morgan said.
The Welsh Government said the spring booster will be offered to everyone over-75, to all older care home residents and to everyone over 12 who is immuno-suppressed. Health boards will be sending out invitations to everyone in these groups. Children aged five to 11 are also being offered a vaccine.
"This is designed to increase their immunity against severe Covid-19 and to minimise disruption to their education. I would urge families to discuss the offer and read up about the vaccine," said Ms Morgan. "We are continuing to provide first and second vaccinations and boosters. If you haven’t had a Covid-19 vaccine and want one, it is never too late to be vaccinated in Wales."
