The number of people who have died after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales has increased by nine, it has been announced.
Public Health Wales (PHW) confirmed on Thursday (May 21) that the death toll has now reached 1,247 since the outbreak began in March.
In addition, the NHS trust said the number of overall cases of Covid-19 has now risen to 12,846 after 166 more were reported.
And while NHS testing capacity currently stands at more than 5,000, just 1,843 tests were carried out on Wednesday.
Map: The areas of Wales that have seen the most coronavirus cases in the last seven days
The latest figures were revealed following a press conference with NHS chief executive Dr Andrew Goodall.
He started by highlighting that most health boards were operating under "level one status" - the lowest level of demand.
But he admitted three hospitals were operating above that on Thursday morning.
"We had three of our hospital sites in Wales who were reporting level two (out of four), so that's only a small rise in terms of the activity that's happening on those sites," he said.
"All of those sites said they were reporting to de-escalate by [Thursday] afternoon. For me, it's just a sign that we are seeing a more normal recovery of some of our access to our NHS services, and hopefully while sites are reporting they have pressure, what they also report is their plans and actions to lower that again.
"So I don't have a concern about that."
Dr Goodall also read out a range of figures on how the virus is affecting the NHS in Wales.
These included:
- 38% of acute hospital beds are empty which equates to around 2,600 beds, a lower figure than last week because of "return to normal NHS activity";
- There are 493 people with coronavirus in hospital and a further 355 suspected cases, lower than last week;
- There are 357 available critical care beds, including surge capacity. 60% of them are empty and available;
- 55 people are being treated in critical care for Covid-19 at present, which is lower than last week;
- The majority of people in critical care do not have coronavirus.
Dr Goodall added that up to Wednesday, based on operational data, the total number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus symptoms since the outbreak began was just over 7,000.
He said 464 of them had been treated in critical care, while more than 5,000 patients had been discharged.
"Most people who have had virus haven't needed hospital treatment," he added.
He added that over the past week, there have been between 100 and 200 confirmed cases per day in Wales.
Chart: The number of cases of coronavirus reported in Wales each day
Chart: The number of coronavirus deaths reported in Wales each day
Dr Goodall reported that while community transmission appears to be falling in Wales, there may have been a "late epidemic surge" in north Wales.
But he said he believed this could be attributed to increased testing capacity and targeting specific settings like care homes.
"These have not converted into a higher level of hospital admissions. Cases in hospitals and critical care beds across north Wales have reduced from their peak," he added.
Meanwhile, the NHS chief executive confirmed that less than 10% of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus need critical care. He said they originally thought this figure would be much higher.
"The average age of someone being treated in critical care is 56 - you may have expected that to be older," he added.
He went on to add that the majority of people in intensive care with coronavirus are men.
"People are usually in hospital for only a day or two before they are moved to critical care," he said.
"Three quarters of people in critical care are mechanically ventilated within the first 24 hours."
Dr Goodall finished his statement by asking the public not to "throw efforts away" over the forthcoming bank holiday weekend.
He asked people to continue to support the NHS and care system by staying home and staying local if they do venture out.
When asked about antibody tests now becoming available in some high street shops, Dr Goodall said the public need to be "wary" about people's wish to understand whether they've had the virus or not.
On a UK-wide basis and across the four nations, he said they are developing proposals to make sure these tests can be accessed and used - and that they will have a 98% accuracy rate.
He said he was concerned that people could accessing tests with below 98% accuracy.
And when asked why Wales wasn't being more lenient with socialising outdoors, Dr Goodall said there is an ongoing discussion across the four nations about these approaches.
He said the decisions on lockdown measures and how that's taken forward remains with First Minister Mark Drakeford and cabinet.
He said he remained focused on making sure the "R-rate" (rate of infection) is limited and that Wales is to keep under one as much as possible.
