POWYS has seen a significant spike in coronavirus cases.

Figures released today by Public Health Wales show the total number of cases found in the county has risen by 11 in 24 hours to 403, after there were eight new cases found over the weekend.

It means the number of cases in Powys has risen by 20 in just a few days. The location of the new cases has not been confirmed, but there have been concerns about an increase in the number of cases in Welshpool in the last week.

More than 100 people tested there on Friday - when 278 tests were carried out across the county, the most number of tests undertaken in Powys in a single day.

This is the highest one day increase in Powys since April 18, but it is also in the context of a large rise in cases nationally today.

Public Health Wales data relate to cases where coronavirus has been confirmed, and only include people who have died in hospital settings in Wales.

As such, this excludes people who have died in hospitals in England, those who have passed away in care homes, and those who died without having been tested to confirm the presence of coronavirus.

Powys Teaching Health Board has suggested Office for National Statistics (ONS) data to be the most accurate, as it shows deaths where coronavirus may have been present since the epidemic began

The ONS figures are considered the most accurate representation of the spread of the disease in Powys, despite including cases where Covid-19 had not been confirmed in a laboratory, which the official data from Public Health Wales does not cover.