MORE than 140 new cases of covid-19 have been reported across North Wales, health chiefs have said.

Public Health Wales announced on Saturday afternoon that 2,494 new cases of the virus have been reported across Wales, as well as a further 31 deaths.

Of the new cases, 144 were reported in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area.

There were:

  • 50 in Wrexham
  • 45 in Flintshire
  • 21 in Denbighshire
  • 15 in Gwynedd
  • 10 in Conwy
  • Three on Anglesey

The number of suspected covid-19 deaths in lab confirmed cases in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board stands at 555.

Dr Christopher Williams, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Yesterday (Friday 11 December) there was planned maintenance of the NHS Welsh Laboratory Information Management System (WLIMS) to allow for essential service upgrades to take place.

“This will affect our daily reporting of Coronavirus figures, and therefore there will be no release of daily figures tomorrow (Sunday 13 December).

"There will be a period of data reconciliation and validation that will affect our daily reporting figures for several days after this downtime.

“Public Health Wales is concerned at the high levels of Coronavirus in nearly every part of Wales and we note that the Welsh Government will be publishing an updated Coronavirus Control Plan next week.

“If we are to have meaningful and safe interactions within the permitted exclusive Christmas ‘bubble’, then everyone should immediately start to limit their interactions with other as much as possible in the lead up to the festive period.

“This means staying out of other people’s homes, limiting the times and the numbers of people that you meet, maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene, working from home if you can, and self-isolating if you show symptoms of coronavirus or are asked to do so by contact tracers.

“As the number of cases continues to accelerate in Wales, we would also advise people to consider their plans for Christmas from the perspective of what they ‘should’ do, rather than what they ‘can’ do, in order to protect their families and communities.

“The festive period is important for people across Wales who want to be with loved ones during the holidays, particularly after a very difficult year, but we would remind everyone that we must each continue to take personal responsibility to limit the spread of the virus and protect our loved ones, particularly if they are vulnerable or extremely vulnerable.

"For many, this will mean that it isn’t possible to celebrate Christmas in the way you normally would.

“We understand that people will want to do their Christmas shopping at this time of year.

"We would suggest to try to visit shops during off-peak times, to always maintain social distancing and to wear a face covering if you can. Options such as ‘click and collect’ or online purchasing may also be something to consider."