THERE have been 10 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Powys by Public Health Wales today (October 13), the third day in a row of double-digit increases in cases.

The latest additions mean that the total number of lab-confirmed cases of the virus in Powys now stands at 615.

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 96 in Powys – the first increase in deaths 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 – 615

New cases in October 13 data – 10

Rate of new cases per 100,000 people in week to October 13 – 52.9

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – 20th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Thursday, Octover 15 – 10

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 727 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 1,698 deaths and 33,041 people have tested positive since the pandemic began.

The total number of people who have been tested in Wales is 629,343, with 596,302 testing negative.

A total of 8,808 daily tests were carried out on behalf of PHW on Wednesday.

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

Public Health Wales' statement

Dr Eleri Davies, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Today is Global Handwashing Day, which is more important than ever this year as having good hand hygiene is so important to preventing the transmission of Coronavirus.

"While we’ve become used to seeing hand sanitising stations in public places, we must remember that it’s just as important to wash our hands with soap and water regularly when we are at home, to reduce 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.