A TOTAL of 25 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Powys by Public Health Wales on Monday (November 2).

The total number of lab-confirmed cases of the virus in Powys since the outbreak of the pandemic now stands at 915, with Public Health Wales confirming the 25 new cases overnight.

The number of confirmed deaths of people due to Covid-19 in the county now stands at 19.

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.

Powys stats:

Confirmed cases – 915

New cases in November 2 data – 25

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to October 27 – 101.2

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – joint 16th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Monday, November 2 – 25

Sunday, November 1 – 26

Saturday, October 31 – 21

Friday, October 30 – 25

Thursday, October 29 – 21

Wednesday, October 28 – 47

Tuesday, October 27 – 13

The national picture:

The latest figures reveal that three more people have died with coronavirus in Wales – this means a total of 1,891 people have died since the start of the pandemic.

A further 1,646 new cases have been reported, bringing the total number of known cases to 53,337, according to PHW data.

Two of the latest deaths occurred in the Aneurin Bevan health board area, with another in the Hywel Dda health board area.

Cardiff saw the highest number of newly reported cases with 252 positive tests, followed by Rhondda Cynon Taf with 201 cases and Swansea with 182 people testing positive.

The area with the highest weekly case rate is Merthyr Tydfil, recording 689.6 cases for every 100,000 people.

This is followed by Rhondda Cynon Taf, which saw 506.5 cases over a seven-day period and Blaenau Gwent with a weekly case rate of 496.7.

In his lunchtime briefing on Monday, First Minister Mark Drakeford announced a string of new rules that will come into place in Wales once the current “firebreak” lockdown period ends next Monday, November 9.

These include two households in Wales will now be able to form a bubble and meet at home after the 17-day firebreak ends.

There will be no travel restrictions within Wales, but people will not be able to leave the country except for essential purposes such as work during England's four-week lockdown. People living in Wales will be allowed to go on holiday in Wales.

Mr Drakeford stressed that people who live and work on different sides of the Wales-England border would still be able to travel between the two nations.

People in Wales will be subject to the same ban on international travel as people in England.

Mr Drakeford said: “I can confirm that people will be able to travel within Wales, they won't be confined to their local authority area as was the case during the firebreak.”

All businesses that were closed throughout the firebreak will be able to reopen, but it is not clear under what terms pubs and restaurants will be required to operate. Rules for pubs and restaurants are being given further consideration on Monday afternoon.

Groups of 15 will be allowed to meet for organised indoors activities. Outdoors, 30 people will be able to meet for organised activities under the rules, which will be reviewed in a fortnight.

Public Health Wales' statement:

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

“Public Health Wales supports the new measures from Welsh Government which will come in at the end of the current fire-break period on 9 November 2020, in particular the call for the public to take personal responsibility for their actions and to ensure that they are doing as much as possible to limit the transmission of coronavirus.

“As we enter the second and final week of the fire-break, we urge the public to stick to the current rules, which are vital to help us regain control of the virus, to protect the NHS, and save lives.

“Although national and local measures have made a difference, further action is needed. Cases continue to rise in Wales, hospital admissions are increasing, including those into critical care, and sadly so are the numbers of people dying from the virus.

“Under the rules, people must stay at home, except for very limited purposes. They must not visit other households or meet other people they do not live with.

“Face coverings continue to be mandatory in the indoor public spaces that remain open, subject to certain exemptions and exceptions, including on public transport and in taxis.

“More information about the new rules is available at the Welsh Government website.”