Covid infections in Powys have been falling in lockdown – but not at the rate that health chiefs had hoped.

At a meeting of Powys Teaching Health Board on Wednesday January 27, the board's chief executive Carol Shillabeer said the new variants had been an issue in the battle to bring down case rates in the county.

Data shows that the seven day rate positive rate for Covid-19 has fallen to 157.1 per 100,000 for Wednesday, January 27.

Earlier in the month, as of January 10, the rate had reached 241.6 per 100,000.

Mrs Shillabeer said: “The Covid case rate in Powys has been falling, not as quickly as we would have hoped, we all recognise the issues with the new variants.

“Nonetheless it’s important to recognise the efforts that are being made in terms of the restrictions on people’s lives, to reducing the case rate here in Powys.”

Mrs Shillabeer explained that hospitals dealing with patients from Powys  had been under the the same intensive pressure as other parts of the country.

She added: “We know services have been under a huge amount of pressure.

“I do want to recognise that this has been affecting our colleagues across the border in the English (NHS) Trusts and in South Wales that provide care for Powys people.”

She added that while the position in recent weeks is “stabilising,” for the time being, health services in Powys as in the rest of Wales and the UK will be focussing on emergency care.

Health bosses also noted the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths from Covid throughout the UK at the meeting.

Mrs Shillabeer, said: “Yesterday was a very sombre day for the UK and  we recognise that people in Powys are sadly within those figures.”

“It is a grave point in the pandemic.”