LATEST figures show that 41 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 3,711.

Another person from Powys has died with the virus according to PHW figures, the total number of Powys deaths now stands at 54, 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 – 3,711

New cases in February 12 data – 41

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

Friday, February 12 - 41

Thursday, February 11 – 37

Wednesday, February 10 – 8

Tuesday, February 9 – 21

Monday, February 8 – 22

Sunday, February 7 – 27

Saturday, February 6 – 17

The national picture:

Another 25 people have died due to the virus in Wales over the last day, with 410 new cases confirmed.

PHW say the death toll is now 5,084. 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: “We welcome the news that the vaccination programme in Wales, carried out by Welsh Government and the local health boards, has reached the significant milestone of 20 per cent of the population having had their first dose of the vaccination. This is a great achievement and is a big step towards ensuring the reduction of serious illness, and deaths, from Coronavirus.

“Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 110 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.

“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.”

“The UK variant of Coronavirus prevalent in many parts of Wales is up to 70 per cent more transmissible, and as reported recently there is evidence which suggests that it may lead to a higher risk of death than the non-variant. Public Health Wales welcomes the recent evidence that the ChadOx1 (AstraZeneca/Oxford Vaccine Group) vaccine is effective against the UK variant.