More people in Wales are going be in hospital with Covid over the next four weeks according to the First Minister Mark Drakeford.
Speaking during an in depth interview with WalesOnline. he said that a third wave was now "inevitable" but how badly it affects our lives "is still to play for".
When asked about the latest modelling for Wales the First Minister said: "There are models which are very sobering indeed.
"At the worst end, if things were really to get out of hand and we were to have a really significant impact from the Delta variant then the peak of hospital admissions could even be higher than the peak we saw back in in the start of this year.
"However when you factor other things into the model such as the time of year and vaccination levels then that peak can be significantly suppressed. There is going to be a peak. More people are going to fall ill in Wales over the next four weeks then over the last four weeks. More people are going to need hospital treatment in the next four weeks than the last four weeks.
"But if we do all the right things and stick to the rules in the way we were talking about earlier, then the chance of suppressing that peak to a much more manageable level is still there."
Yesterday it was announced that the number of cases of the Delta variant in Wales had risen by a further 184 since Monday.
It means 488 confirmed cases of the more transmissible strain, which is thought to have originated in India, have now been identified in Wales. It is important to remember that the exact figures is likely to be substantially higher due to reporting delays.
Public Health Wales aims to sequence ever positive Covid case but this is not possible due to quality of some samples. Even those that are sequenced it can take up to a week to get all those results back meaning that his figure of 488 is likely considerable higher.
Speaking about the third wave driven by the delta variant the First Minister said: The third wave is now inevitable. But the extent in which it has an impact on all our lives is not - that is still to play for."
Mr Drakeford added that he still didn't expect to have to close gyms, schools or pubs to combat the rise.
"Yes, I don't anticipate that those closures will be necessary," he said. "Certainly not on the advice we are receiving at the moment."
