A TOTAL of 48 new positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in Powys in the last 24 hours, according to Public Health Wales (PHW) stats.

There have been no more recorded deaths according to those PHW figures, which put deaths due to the virus since the pandemic began at 40, although that number has climbed by six, from 154 to 160, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

It is the highest number of positive cases reported in the county since Saturday and whereas Powys’ numbers are always among the lowest in terms of new daily cases compared to the other 21 local authority areas in Wales – today’s new cases put Powys as the ninth highest.

The cumulative number of cases in the county since the pandemic began now stands at 3,240.

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.

Powys’ third coronavirus Mass Vaccination Centre (MVC) opened on Wednesday, with 500 people given the jab at Maldwyn Leisure Centre after opening at 8am. It is expected that 2,000 people will be vaccinated by the weekend.

Health Minister Vaughan Gething on Wednesday praised Powys Teaching Health Board for the progress made in delivering the coronavirus vaccine to its residents.

It comes as Mr Gething announced that Wales' vaccination programme is ready to “move up another gear” next week with supply of the Oxford jab expected to double.

Powys stats:

Confirmed cases – 3,240

New cases in January 21 data – 48

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to January 16 – 189.5

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – 9th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Thursday, January 21 – 48

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

The national picture:

A further 46 people have died in Wales with coronavirus. It takes the total number of deaths in Wales to 4,392, say PHW.

There were also 1,153 new Covid infections reported, taking the total number of cases to 185,035.

The number of people to have received their first jab of the vaccine in Wales now stands at 190,435, with 396 having had their second dose.

Mr Gething has warned that although case rates in Wales are falling, the public should not expect a significant easing of restrictions at the end of January.

Wales has been in a level four lockdown since before Christmas with a decision on a review of the current restrictions expected by January 29.

The seven-day rolling case rate for Wales is 285 cases per 100,000 people, which is down from a high of 636 on December 17

Mr Gething said at his Wednesday briefing: “If we come out of level four too soon, too fast, we could well see a rebound in Covid rates.

“And we could end up doing something that overwhelms our health service with all the harm that would cause to our staff and people who need our health service.

“People shouldn't expect any significant easing at the end of this current phase.”

In other Covid-19 news, just under a quarter of over 80s in Wales have been given their first dose of coronavirus vaccine, according to PHW.

There have been 43,879 doses – which is 23.9 per cent of this priority group for the Covid-19 jab.

More than half of care home residents and two thirds of care home workers have also had their first doses.

Meanwhile, the total number of first dose vaccinations has reached 190,435 in Wales – 6 per cent of the population. The figures also show 86,717 frontline health workers have also been given a first dose.

Public Health Wales' statement:

Dr Eleri Davies, 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.”