THERE have been 19 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Powys by Public Health Wales today (October 13), marking a substantial upturn in the rate at which new cases have been reported in the county.

The latest additions mean that the total number of lab-confirmed cases of the virus in Powys since the outbreak of the pandemic has now passed 600, and stands at 605.

Although still relatively low it is the highest number of new cases reported in Powys in more than a month.

Moreover, Public Health Wales says the overall total number of cases confirmed in Wales today is the highest one-day rise since the outbreak began.

There have been no more deaths in Powys, meaning the number of confirmed deaths of people due to Covid-19 is 15.

PHW's figures mostly involve hospital deaths and only include cases when the virus has been confirmed in a laboratory test. The figures do not include deaths of residents from Powys in hospitals in England, although these are included in Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

Figures from the ONS, 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 in Powys, 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 – 605

New cases in October 13 data – 19

Rate of new cases per 100,000 people in week to October 13 – 55.9

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – 18th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Wednesday, October 14 – 19

Tuesday, October 13 – 11

Sunday, October 11 – 9

Saturday, October 10 – 9

Friday, October 9 – 8

Thursday, October 8 – 12

The national picture

Ten more people have died with coronavirus in Wales and 946 have tested positive, according to the latest figures from PHW, which says it is the biggest one-day increase of the entire pandemic.

It said there had been a total of 1,688 deaths and 32,316 people have tested positive since the pandemic began.

The total number of people who have been tested in Wales is 623,105, with 590,789 testing negative.

A total of 9,726 daily tests were carried out on behalf of PHW on Tuesday.

Seventeen areas in Wales have seen local lockdown restrictions put in place, affecting more than two million people.

Public Health Wales' statement

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales’ daily dashboard is today reporting the largest number of positive Coronavirus cases on a single day for the entire pandemic at 946 new cases.

"This demonstrates the high growth in numbers of positives, and reminds us how important it is that we all stick to the local restrictions, and to follow the social distancing measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

“We have seen an increase in transmission of the Coronavirus in social clubs, and would like to remind the public that the virus spreads really well in social situations.

"If you need to visit these type of venues, then:

  • Don’t mix with anyone other than the people that you live with;
  • Stay 2m apart from people that you don’t live with;
  • If you are contacted by the Test, Trace, Protect service, then please be honest about where you have been and with whom – the contact tracers aren’t going to judge you, they are trying to restrict the spread of the virus. By giving them the correct information you will help others avoid infection, and possibly getting seriously ill.

“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.

“People who live in these areas must abide by these restrictions to protect themselves, their families, friends, older and vulnerable people, and keep Wales safe. For more information about restrictions in your area, visit the Welsh Government website."