Ten more deaths in Wales from coronavirus as Welsh Government promises more testing

The latest figures have been released by Public Health Wales. Credit: PA

A further ten people have lost their lives after testing positive for coronavirus in Wales, with 128 new cases confirmed.

The latest figures, released by Public Health Wales, mean that 1164 people in the country have died from Covid-19.

It comes as the Welsh Government promised to increase its testing capacity to 20,000 per day to help trace the spread of coronavirus across the country.

NHS Wales Chief Executive Dr Andrew Goodall told a press conference on Thursday that antibody tests would make an ''important contribution'' to the Welsh Government's coronavirus strategy.

The new test to determine whether people have ever been infected with coronavirus has been described as 100% accurate by Public Health England. With Public Health England acting on behalf of Wales in procuring testing, Wales should also see the test being rolled out across the country if it happens.

A graph showing the number of deaths up until May 13.

The latest figures follow the declining trend in the number of new cases and deaths across the country, although the true number of confirmed cases is likely to be higher as not everyone is currently being tested.

First Minister Mark Drakeford has announced that Wales will continue in lockdown for another three weeks, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson's announced the easing of England's lockdown at the weekend.

The PM announced changes to lockdown restrictions in England which meant that people have been encouraged to go back to work, and are permitted to travel for exercise.

Today's figures from Public Health Wales:

  • 11,834 cases of COVID-19 in Wales (of which 128 were new today)

  • 10 new suspected deaths from COVID-19 reported today

  • 1,164 total deaths from COVID-19 across Wales

  • 45,358 tests carried out on the Welsh population

  • 1,300 tests carried out yesterday

  • 33,524 people tested negative

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Ken Skates used his press conference to discourage tourists from traveling to Wales.

The latest figures,show Rhondda Cynon Taf now has the highest number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people.

  • Read more coronavirus updates from around Wales: