Public health experts in Wales have voiced concerns about tackling the dual problem of Covid-19 and flu this winter. Latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that coronavirus cases are on the rise in Wales but remain at very low levels.
It is understood that around one in 50 people, or 2.07% of the Welsh population, was living with the virus for the week ending September 20. That is more than double the figure recorded just a fortnight earlIer when one in 110 had Covid. There are also early signs that more people are in hospital with 'confirmed' coronavirus, although nearly all of them are being treated for other conditions. You can read more on that here.
Meanwhile Public Health Wales (PHW) has also issued a warning that the influenza season will begin earlier and will affect more people than normal. Scientists say that the flu season could be as severe as the 2017-18 flu outbreak where 16,500 thousand people in Wales were diagnosed by their GP and 2,500 people were hospitalised. There was also a high level of seasonal excess deaths that year – the worst for around 20 years. You can read more on that here.
