The number of coronavirus cases in Powys increased by 235 over the weekend, official figures show.

A total of 23,037 people had been confirmed as testing positive for Covid-19 in Powys when the UK coronavirus daily dashboard was updated on January 31 (Monday), up from 22,802 on Friday.

Public Health Wales said that cases reported on Mondays will be for a 48-hour period so are likely to be much higher than the usual 24-hour figures.

The rate of infection in Powys now stands at 17,317 cases per 100,000 people, far lower than the Wales average of 24,574.

Since yesterday (January 31), the UK Health Security Agency has changed all reporting of coronavirus cases in England and Northern Ireland to include possible reinfections for the first time – resulting in a significant rise in the number of cases recorded nationally.

Across the UK, 17,315,893 coronavirus infections have been recorded since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 981,913 compared to Friday.

The new change only applies to England and Northern Ireland, but the UKHSA said it is working with the devolved administrations to align definitions across the UK.

People with a positive lateral flow test no longer need to take a follow-up PCR test to confirm the result unless they have coronavirus symptoms.

UK case numbers currently only include LFT results for England and Northern Ireland, with lateral flow testing data for Scotland due to be added in the coming weeks.