Wales' seven-day coronavirus infection rate has now reached the highest level since the pandemic began, it has been revealed.
New figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) published on Friday, October 22, show there were 11 further Covid deaths recorded to bring the total in Wales to 6,074.
There were also 3,296 new positive cases recorded in today's update, bringing the total number since the pandemic began to 415,829.
The latest seven-day infection rate across Wales based on the cases for every 100,000 people (seven days up to October 17) now stands at 681.9 – the highest rate ever and a sharp rise from the 651.9 reported on Thursday. Wales' infection rate is now the fourth-highest in the world. See more here.
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The local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales is now Blaenau Gwent with a whopping 1,185.2 cases per 100,000 population over seven days, followed by Torfaen with 1,000.4 and Caerphilly with 961.5.
The test positivity rate across Wales has risen to 22.9%, meaning more than a fifth of all those getting tests are coming back positive. Nearly a third of people in Blaenau Gwent are having their test come back positive (31.6%) - the highest of any local authority.
The areas of the country recording the highest numbers of Covid cases in the latest 24-hour period were Swansea with 297, Cardiff with 260, Caerphilly with 252, RCT with 244, Torfaen with 193 and Neath Port Talbot with 192.
Meanwhile Carmarthenshire had 179 new cases, Pembrokeshire had 178, Newport had 171, Bridgend had 169, Blaenau Gwent had 133, Vale of Glamorgan, Flintshire and Powys all had 113, and Monmouthshire had 104.
The local authorities with the lowest numbers of cases included Conwy with 91, Denbighshire with 87, Wrexham with 79, Gwynedd with 78, Ceredigion with 68, Merthyr Tydfil with 64 and Anglesey with 51.
As of October 21 there were 677 people in general and acute hospital beds with coronavirus (confirmed, suspected, and recovering), a rise on the 673 reported the day before.
Aneurin Bevan UHB had the most Covid patients in general and acute hospital beds on October 21 with 182 followed by Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB with 118, Cardiff and Vale UHB with 116, Betsi Cadwaladr UHB with 98, Hywel Dda UHB with 84 and Swansea Bay UHB with 79.
As of October 21 there were 59 people in invasive ventilated beds in Wales with coronavirus. Swansea Bay UHB and Betsi Cadwaladr UHB had 13 each, Cwm Taf Morgannwgh UHB had 10, Aneurin Bevan UHB and Hywel Dda UHB had nine, and Cardiff and Vale UHB had five.
On Friday Public Health Wales figures showed that 2,421,700 people have had one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,238,258 have had both doses.
For the first time PHW has released figures on the number of people who have received their Covid booster vaccine. To date, 322,591 have had it - including more than half of care home residents (56%) and healthcare workers (59.3%) and nearly half of care home workers (47.9%) and those over 80 years old (44.3%).
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is now being administered to 12 to 15-year-olds in mass vaccination centres and some schools. You can read more about that here.
Uptake of the first vaccine dose by priority group (according to PHW):
- Severely immunosuppressed: 98.7%
- Care home residents: 98.2%
- Care home workers: 94.2%
- 80 years and older: 96.2%
- Healthcare workers: 97.1%
- Social care workers: 45,674 (no percentage available)
- 75-79 years: 97%
- 70-74 years: 96.3%
- Clinically extremely vulnerable 16-69 years: 95.2%
- 65-69 years: 95.1%
- Clinical risk groups 12-64 years: 89.8%
- 60-64 years: 93.5%
- 55-59 years: 91.8%
- 50-54 years: 90%
- 40-49 years: 85.1%
- 30-39 years: 78.5%
- 18-29 years: 77.9%
- 16-17 years: 74.0%
- 12-15 years: 31.4%
Uptake of the second vaccine dose by priority group (according to PHW):
- Care home residents: 96.6%
- Care home workers: 91.5%
- 80 years and older: 95.3%
- Healthcare workers: 95.4%
- Social care workers: 45,139 (no percentage available)
- 75-79 years: 96.3%
- 70-74 years: 95.8%
- Clinically extremely vulnerable 16-69 years: 93.6%
- 65-69 years: 94.3%
- Clinical risk groups 12-64 years: 86%
- 60-64 years: 92.4%
- 55-59 years: 90.4%
- 50-54 years: 88.2%
- 40-49 years: 82.2%
- 30-39 years: 73.4%
- 18-29 years: 70.3%
- 16-17 years: 23.5%
- 12-15 years: 0.3%
Uptake of booster vaccines (according to PHW)
- Care home residents: 56%
- Care home workers: 47.9%
- 80 years and older: 44.3%
- Healthcare workers: 59.3%
- Social care workers: 24,306 (no percentage given)
- 75-79 years: 26.2%
- 70-74 years: 20.6%
- Clinically extremely vulnerable 16-69 years: 10.4%
- 65-69 years: 8.2%
- Clinical risk groups 12-64 years: 1.2%
- 60-64 years: 7.8%
- 55-59 years: 94.%
- 50-54 years: 9.1%
- 40-49 years: 7.9%
- 30-39 years: 5.6%
- 18-29 years: 3.5%
- 16-17 years: 0.4%
- 12-15 years: 0%
Infection rate for every 100,000 people in each area for the seven days up to October 16:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 1,185.2 (up from 1,046.3)
Newport: 797.8 (up from 724.4)
Caerphilly: 961.5 (up from 874.2)
Torfaen: 1000.4 (up from 940.8)
Monmouthshire: 744.3 (up from 694.6)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 392.5 (down from 395)
Anglesey: 508.7 (down from 524)
Gwynedd: 451.2 (up from 447.2)
Denbighshire: 628 (up from 611.3)
Flintshire: 365.2 (down from 370.9)
Wrexham: 385.4 (up from 384.7)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 826.9 (up from 800.8)
Vale of Glamorgan: 863.1 (up from 824.2)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 689.6 (up from 641.5)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 683.9 (up from 656.1)
Bridgend: 508 (up from 492.4)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 606 (unchanged)
Pembrokeshire: 779.7 (up from 759)
Ceredigion: 371.4 (up from 353.5)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 613.1 (up from 593.5)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 929.4 (up from 851.3)
Swansea: 557.5 (up from 549)
Wales total: 681.9 (up from 651.9 )
On Thursday the Welsh Government unveiled its NHS winter plan in which an extra £40m was given to social care to help ease the pressure on hospital beds. This comes on top of £248m already announced for the NHS Covid recovery fund. To read more about it please go here.
Meanwhile it is now mandatory for people to show Covid passes before entering nightclubs and mass events in Wales.
Under the new law evidence of full vaccination or a negative Covid test within 48 hours will be required when visiting nightclubs or large events.
The plan is now in force at:
- Nightclubs;
- Indoor, non-seated events for more than 500 people, such as concerts or conventions;
- Outdoor non-seated events for more than 4,000 people;
- Any setting or event with more than 10,000 people in attendance.
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