THERE have been eight more positive tests for coronavirus in Powys in the last 24 hours – with Public Health Wales (PHW) figures confirming there was one more death over the weekend.

These figures state that 59 people in Powys have died as a result of Covid-19, though that figure remains at 224 according to more accurate Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.

Deaths of Powys residents are typically 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.

There is usually a delay of at least five days between occurrence and registration in date collection. The analysis requires the joining of weekly and daily data using NHS numbers. Figures may differ slightly between those published by ONS due to the use of different extracts of the data at different time periods. Data is therefore subject to change as more information is received.

PHW figures show that there were 27 new cases reported in Powys over the course of the weekend, which now means there have been 3,960 positive cases recorded in Powys since the start of the pandemic.

Powys stats:

Confirmed cases – 3,960

New cases in March 1 data – 8

Rate of new cases per 100,000 in week to February 21 – 64.9

Powys position among Welsh local authorities for rate of new cases – joint 10th out of 22

Newly-confirmed cases day-by-day:

Monday, March 1 – 8

Saturday/Sunday, February 27/28 – 27

Friday, February 26 – 17

Thursday, February 25 – 15

Wednesday, February 24 – 7

Tuesday, February 23 – 15

Monday, February 22 – 7

The national picture:

Three more people in Wales have died due to Covid-19, taking the total number of Covid-related deaths reported by PHW since the start of the pandemic to 5,343.

Another 193 cases were also reported on Monday, as Wales' overall number of cases per 100,000 people fell to 64.

All three deaths were recorded in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area, which covers north Wales. The number of cases for every 100,000 people fell in most parts of the country, with 17 of Wales' 22 local authority areas seeing case rates decline.

Flintshire, Gwynedd, Wrexham and Swansea all recorded rises in case rates, while Conwy's remained the same as Sunday. Conwy is now the county with the highest case rate in Wales, with 87.9 infections per 100,000 people over the most recent seven-day period. It overtakes Torfaen as the county with the highest case rate.

The next highest case rates are in Gwynedd (85.1), Flintshire (81.4), Anglesey (81.4) and Caerphilly (80.1).

Police officers are facing "greater hostility" from the public when enforcing Covid rules, the head of the South Wales Police Federation has said.

Steve Treharne said officers were dealing with "significant problems" of people congregating in public spaces. It follows "numerous reports" of crowds at beauty spots over the weekend, which led to the closure of car parks and fines being issued. Covid rules mean you should still only be leaving home for essential reasons or exercise.

Wedding and civil partnership ceremonies can take place at licensed venues in Wales from Monday as lockdown restrictions are slightly relaxed.

But as wedding receptions are still not allowed in Wales, some couples have delayed their big day until later in the year so they can have more guests.

Previously, only register offices and places of worship were allowed open to perform marriages with social distancing requirements.

Now venues like hotels, castles and stately homes that are "approved premises" and have the appropriate licence can host a wedding, civil partnership ceremony or an alternative wedding ceremony such as a humanist wedding.

The number of people who can attend the ceremony depends on the size of the venue and its ability to allow people from different households to observe social distancing.

Public Health Wales' statement:

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “We wish everyone in Wales a very happy St David’s Day, and remind people to celebrate safely.

“It was one year ago yesterday, on February 28, 2020, that the first case of coronavirus was announced in Wales. I am pleased to report that one year later, as of Saturday, February 27, Wales has now delivered more than 1 million first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccinations.

“Furthermore, as of Saturday, the weekly incidence of Covid-19 infections in all local authority areas throughout Wales has fallen below 100 cases per 100,000 population. This is encouraging, but we must continue following the rules and guidelines to maintain this trend.

“The public should be aware that the level 4 restrictions remain in place in order to keep infection rates falling and that you should stay at home, meet only the people you live with, work from home if you can, wear a face covering where required, wash your hands regularly and stay two metres from anyone you do not live with.

“We remind everyone that four people from two different households are now able to meet outdoors for socially distanced local exercise. However, please remember this is solely for the purpose of exercise and that individuals should remain at a social distance, and that this guidance doesn’t apply to private gardens.”