Spread of coronavirus has been 'flattened' says First Minister as cases reach 9,000
The First Minister has said social distancing laws have led to the spread of the virus slowing down in Wales.
New figures on Sunday show at least 14 people have died in the last 24 hours after testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of deaths in Wales to 788.
There were also 178 new cases of the virus in Wales, bringing the total to 9,078. More than 32,000 tests in Wales have now been carried out.
The First Minister, Mark Drakeford AM, told ITV Cymru Wales via video link, "I think the astonishing effort that people are making does mean the spread of the virus in the community has been flattened successfully and we are seeing that in a slowing down of admissions to hospital for coronavirus and a reduction in the number of people needing critical care.
"Around half of critical care beds are available today", he added, "and that's partly because we've more than doubled the number, but also because the impact on the health service is just beginning to stabilise and reduce".
On Sunday, Public Health Wales reiterated its view that lockdown measures may be working, but that it is still too early to tell.
Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling-off in the number of new cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures.
"However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules".
On Saturday, new stricter lockdown measures came into force in Wales following the First Minister's announcement on Friday.
Read more: