Coronavirus: more than 200,000 cases have now been recorded in Wales

There have now been 200,166 cases of the virus in the country since the pandemic started.

The rate of coronavirus per 100,000 members of the population is now 86. In North Wales, only Anglesey, Flintshire and Wrexham have a higher rate.

Now 807,351 people have been given their first dose of the vaccine in Wales, and 12,998 people have had the second jab.

Sadly, 30 more people have died after testing positive for coronavirus.

There have been 89 new cases reported in North Wales.

New cases on coronavirus by local authority:

Anglesey 14

Conwy 25

Denbighshire 11

Flintshire 14

Gwynedd 9

Wrexham 16

Coronavirus rate per 100k by local authority:

Anglesey 105.5

Conwy 77.6

Denbighshire 58.5

Flintshire 122.4

Gwynedd 83.5

Wrexham 125.8

Dr Robin Howe, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Over 200,000 cases of Coronavirus have now been reported in Wales. Some people with the virus have had no symptoms. Others have sadly passed away.

“The vaccines are bringing hope for the future. But for now it’s more important than ever to stick to the rules and keep Wales safe.

“You can now not travel directly to Wales if you’ve visited or passed through a country where travel to the UK is banned in the last 10 days. These banned countries are often called ‘RED list’ (countries where new variant covid strains have been found). You will only be able to enter Wales from RED list countries via a designated port of entry and isolate for 10 days in a nearby managed quarantine hotel. There are no designated ports of entry in Wales.

“For more information on current guidance go to: https://gov.wales/coronavirus-travel

“Vaccinating the adult population of Wales, to protect people from severe disease, continues at a pace but is a significant task and the vaccine will take time to reach everyone. The effects of the vaccines may not be seen nationally for some time and everyone – including those who have been vaccinated - must continue to follow the advice on keeping Wales safe.

“Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 90 cases per 100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are still significantly higher, and there have been small increases in others.

“It is encouraging to see that the numbers of people being treated for Coronavirus in our hospitals is reducing, but there are still a large number of people who are extremely ill, which means that the pressure on services is still very high.

“All of Wales remains in lockdown. We recognise that complying with the restrictions can be challenging, but Coronavirus is still active in our communities and can cause severe illness and death. The reduction in the number of cases does not mean that people can meet people from other households (apart from one person for socially distanced exercise), as this can cause the virus to spread.

“As a nation, we have made so many sacrifices throughout the course of the pandemic that we really don’t want to squander the gains that have been made in recent weeks.

“We encourage everyone, whatever their background, socio-demographic and ethnicity, to have the Coronavirus vaccine when they are offered it. We also stress the importance of seeking information from a trusted source such as Public Health Wales, the Welsh Government, local health board or GP.

“We continue to work to identify and investigate cases of variant Coronavirus in Wales. To date, 13 cases of the South Africa variant have been identified in Wales. Multi-agency investigations continue into two separate cases that do not have clear links to international travel. There are no cases of the variants associated with Brazil.”