THERE were 33 new positive cases of coronavirus reported in Powys in the last 24 hours, according to Public Health Wales (PHW) stats.

There have been no more recorded deaths, with PHW figures putting those who have died from the virus since the pandemic began at 40, although that number remains at 154 according to more accurate Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

The cumulative number of cases in the county since the pandemic began is now at 3,192.

Deaths of Powys residents can be skewed because many of the county’s patients deemed acute are transferred to hospitals in England. ONS figures are therefore usually 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.

Although the coronavirus vaccine is being rolled out successfully in Powys, social distancing and personal hygiene are still the best solutions to avoiding the virus, say the local health board.

The Powys mass vaccination programme is gathering pace across the county, with over 7,000 people having received their first vaccination at one of three main centres in Newtown, Builth Wells and Bronllys so far. This includes over 1,000 care home residents and in-patients in the county’s community hospitals.

Next week, all 16 GP practices in Powys will also be joining the programme to help deliver Powys Teaching Health Board’s goal to provide a vaccination for everyone in the nine national priority groups by the spring.

Alison Merry, deputy director of public health in Powys, said: “Vaccines offer a good level of protection from the virus, strengthening our immunity to combat future infection.

“But good personal hygiene, regular hand washing, using sanitising gels and liquids where possible, wearing a face mask and maintaining a two metre distance from one another in all public areas still offers the best protection from catching the virus.”

Powys stats:

Confirmed cases – 3,192

New cases in January 20 data – 33

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to January 15 – 197.8

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – 14th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Wednesday, January 20 – 33

Tuesday, January 19 – 23

Monday, January 18 – 35

Sunday, January 17 - 22

Saturday, January 16 - 60

Friday, January 15 – 50

Thursday, January 14 – 42

Wednesday, January 13 – 18

The national picture:

A further 44 people have died in Wales with coronavirus. Of the new reports, 11 of the deaths were in the Cardiff and Vale health board area.

PHW said the total number of deaths of confirmed Covid cases in hospitals and care homes has reached 4,346 since the start of the pandemic.

There were also 1,283 new Covid infections reported, taking the total number of cases to 183,882.

The number of people to have received their first jab of the vaccine in Wales now stands at 175,816.

In other Covid-related news, a group of Senedd politicians who drank wine at the Welsh Parliament days after a pub alcohol ban had come into force displayed “very serious, poor behaviour”, according to a former standards official.

Former Welsh Government minister Alun Davies allegedly consumed alcohol with Welsh Conservatives leader Paul Davies, chief whip Darren Millar and the party’s chief of staff Paul Smith in a Senedd tea room.

The incident happened on December 8, four days after a ban on the sale, supply and consumption of alcohol on licensed premises came into force, although off-licences were allowed to sell alcohol until 10pm.

All four men deny breaking Covid-19 rules and say they observed social distancing while meeting to discuss working together on a proposed bill, and consumed alcohol not bought from parliament premises.

On Tuesday, Welsh Labour said Alun Davies had been suspended from its group in the Senedd pending an investigation.

Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, told BBC Radio Wales: “I think it’s very serious, poor behaviour by a group of politicians.

“I think it’s a serious matter which requires speedy investigation and action if necessary.”

A Covid-19 recovery app, meanwhile, has been launched today (Wednesday) as part of wider support on offer for people experiencing the longer term effects of coronavirus.

The bilingual, first of its kind app has been developed by the NHS Wales respiratory health group on behalf of the Welsh Government and has been designed to offer people a bespoke tool and personal coach to help them on their road to recovery.

With more than 100 videos and links to advice, app users will be able to record their symptoms, track their progress and learn to manage their condition at home with support.

Public Health Wales' statement:

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “While there has been a reduction in the numbers of positive coronavirus cases in several parts of Wales, this data needs to be verified over several days before we can be sure that it is showing an established downward trend.

“Despite this, the number of cases remains extremely high in Wales and is cause for serious concern, due to the impact on NHS Wales services and the prevalence of the new, more infectious variant.

“In order to avoid adding to the current severe pressure on hospitals, it is extremely important that everyone continues to remain vigilant, by staying at home and sticking to the rules.

“All of Wales remains in lockdown. We ask that the public adopts the same mindset for this lockdown as they did in March 2020. We understand that people are fatigued but because the new, more infectious variant of coronavirus is circulating across Wales it is vital that we all keep to the lockdown restrictions and do not meet other people.

“This means that you must stay at home. Public Health Wales urges everyone to follow the rules, to avoid transmission of coronavirus and to protect everyone in our communities, including the most vulnerable.

“The roll-out of the Pfizer BioNTech and AstraZeneca Coronavirus vaccines continues in Wales with the recently Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Moderna vaccine to be incorporated into the programme soon.

“Vaccinating the adult population of Wales, to protect people from severe disease, is a significant task, and the vaccine will take time to reach everyone. The effects of the vaccines may not be seen nationally for some time, and we must continue to follow the advice on keeping Wales safe.”