Wales appears to be reaching the peak of the Omicron wave of coronavirus, the health minister has confirmed.
Eluned Morgan said there were some "very positive signs" that the country was now "turning a corner" when it came to infections and other indicators used by the Welsh Government. See the latest data here.
She was speaking ahead of the Welsh Government's review of Covid restrictions which will be announced at a press conference led by the First Minister Mark Drakeford.
Giving evidence to the Senedd Health and Social Care Committee on Thursday, Ms Morgan said: "I know that in London about 10% of the population are ill with Covid and in Wales it's about 6%.
"So that's a significant difference and, obviously, we're hoping that we're coming to the peak now.
"And if we arrive at a peak of 6% and they're at 10% then, actually, there is real cause to celebrate, that is a snapshot that you can look at.
"We are clearly keeping a very close eye on the data at the moment but there are some very positive signs, I'm pleased to say, in terms of us possibly turning the corner, which would be a huge, huge relief."
Ms Morgan's comments come two days after First Minister Mark Drakeford told the Senedd that modelling suggested the peak could still be 10 days away.
But he indicated that ministers could ease restrictions as part of the Welsh Government's weekly review cycle, but cautioned that it was a "big if" whether Wales would be in a position for that to happen.
The latest infection rate from Public Health Wales, based on the seven days up to January 8, is 1,492.4 cases for every 100,000 people – which is down as would be expected on the 1,595.6 recorded on Wednesday as the change to lateral flow tests filters through.
The highest infection rate in each Welsh local authority for the seven days between January 2 and January 8 was Neath Port Talbot with 1,893 per 100,000 followed by Blaenau Gwent with 1,756.3 and Caerphilly with 1,671.7. Read the full bulletin here.
All age groups are showing a decline in cases, especially those younger age groups which were driving the spike over the Christmas period.
Meanwhile Welsh ministers said it is not yet reducing the self-isolation period for people who test positive for Covid-19. In England, the self-isolation period is being cut from seven to five full days.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "We will be guided by the evidence and look forward to seeing the clinical evidence that has informed this decision."
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