LATEST figures show that eight new people have tested positive for coronavirus in Powys over the last 24 hours.

Public Health Wales (PHW) statistics show that the total number of cases in the county since the pandemic began is now 3,633.

Another person from Powys has died with the virus according to PHW figures, the total number of Powys deaths now stands at 52, with that number much higher, at 189, according to more reliable Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

Deaths of Powys residents though 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 stats:

Confirmed cases – 3,633

New cases in February 10 data – 8

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to February 4 – 87.6

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – Joint 5th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Wednesday, February 10 – 8

Tuesday, February 9 – 21

Monday, February 8 – 22

Sunday, February 7 – 27

Saturday, February 6 – 17

Friday, February 5 – 12

Thursday, February 4 – 24

The national picture:

Another 21 more people have died due to the virus in Wales over the last day, with 323 new cases confirmed.

PHW say the death toll is now 5,032. There were 361 deaths involving Covid-19 in Wales in the latest weekly figures from the ONS, which is 86 fewer than last week and the second successive fall, but Covid still accounts for 37.1 per cent of all deaths.

It takes the total number of deaths, as measured by the ONS, in the pandemic in Wales to 6,843.

Public Health Wales' statement:

Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 120 cases per 100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are still at nearly double that, and there have been small increases in others.

“It is encouraging to see that the numbers of people being treated for Coronavirus in our hospitals is reducing, there are still a large number of people who are extremely ill, which means that the pressure on services is still very high.

“All of Wales remains in lockdown. We recognise that complying with the restrictions can be challenging, but Coronavirus is still active in our communities and can cause severe illness and death. The reduction in the number of cases does not mean that people can meet people from other households (apart from one person for socially distanced exercise), as this can cause the virus to spread.

“As a nation, we have made so many sacrifices throughout the course of the pandemic that we really don’t want to squander the gains that have been made in recent weeks.

“Media reports regarding the effectiveness of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine against the South African variant of concern relate to prelimary data from a study involving a small group of people which is not yet peer-reviewed. In trials this vaccine has demonstrated high levels of protection against COVID-related hospitalisation and death from 28 days after vaccination, and protection was reported to be consistent across trial sites, including in South Africa where almost all infections are due to this variant.

“We encourage everyone, whatever their background, socio-demographic and ethnicity, to have the Coronavirus vaccine when they are offered it. We also stress the importance of seeking information from a trusted source such as Public Health Wales, the Welsh Government, local health board or GP.

“We continue to work to identify and investigate cases of variant Coronavirus in Wales. To date, 13 cases of the South Africa variant have been identified in Wales. Multi-agency investigations continue into two separate cases that do not have clear links to international travel. There are no cases of the variants associated with Brazil.”