Coronavirus in Powys round-up – Monday, October 12

There have now been 575 lab-confirmed cases of the virus in Powys since the outbreak of the pandemic, after the latest figures released.

Public Health Wales confirmed that the five new cases were all from Monday, October 12.

No more people in Powys have died from the virus, according to Public Health Wales, which puts the number of confirmed deaths of people due the virus at 15.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics, considered a stronger indicator of the overall impact of the virus, and which are based on all deaths where Covid-19 is mentioned on the death certificate, stand at 95, where it has remained since mid-August.

The county's infection rate now appears to have passed 25 cases per 100,000 people – the trigger point at which the Welsh Government is thought to start monitoring the advance of the virus, but still well below the level at which a local lockdown is imposed.

Powys stats:

Confirmed cases – 575

New cases in October 12 data – five

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to October 8 – 40

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – 19th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Monday, October 12 – 5

Sunday, October 11 – 9

Saturday, October 10 – 9

Friday, October 9 – 8

Thursday, October 8 – 12

Wednesday, October 7 – 8

Tuesday October 6 – 3

Monday, October 5 – 7

The national picture

Four more people in Wales have died with Covid-19 as the number of cases rises by 487, Public Health Wales said on Monday.

The total number of deaths in Wales of people with coronavirus now stands at 1,673.

Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board in North Wales remains the area with the highest number of deaths, at 429. Three of the latest deaths were in the Cwm Taf health board area of South Wales, where there has been an outbreak of hospital infections in recent weeks and a rise in deaths.

A second national Welsh lockdown is being considered as cases rise, the health minister has said.

Vaughan Gething said there was "growing concern" local restrictions may not be enough to stop a rise in cases, which he said was close to its spring peak. Welsh ministers said earlier on Monday there were "deeply disappointed" at "inadequate" proposals for travel restrictions in English Covid hotspots. Mr Gething said Prime Minister Boris Johnson would only ask people not to travel in and out of such areas – rather than make it illegal.

Public Health Wales' statement

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said:

“Local restrictions are now in place in Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen, Vale of Glamorgan, and Wrexham local authority areas, and in the hyperlocal areas of Bangor and Llanelli.

“It is vital that people in every part of Wales stick to social distancing guidelines – that’s staying two metres away from others, and washing hands regularly. They must also self-isolate immediately when asked to do so.

“We are aware of misinformation circulating on social media which suggests that testing for Covid-19 generates a positive result for flu or common cold viruses. This is completely incorrect. The swab (PCR, antigen) test for Covid-19 has been specifically developed to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus – also known as Covid-19 – and has a proven accuracy rate of 99.91 per cent.

“We would remind everyone to ensure that they are getting their information from established, trusted organisations: Public Health Wales, Welsh Government and NHS Wales, and not to share anything from unverified sources.”