Wales' Covid case rate drops to lowest since September
Wales' coronavirus case rate has dropped to its lowest since September with the 7 day rolling figure now below 100 cases per 100,000 people.
An additional 22 people have died with Covid-19 in Wales and there have 400 new cases, according to the latest figures from Public Health Wales.
It means there have now been 5,106 Covid related deaths in Wales since the start of the pandemic, and almost 200,000 cases.
749,445 people have now received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, after another 33,000 were given the jab.
On Friday, the Welsh Government said jabs had been offered to all residents and staff in adult care homes, frontline health and social care workers, people aged 70 and over, and clinically vulnerable individuals, and in doing so fulfilled its goal of doing so by mid-February.
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Wales' overall case rate has fallen to 99 cases for every 100,000 people.
This figure falls below the Welsh Government criteria (50 and 150 cases per 100,000 people) for Wales to transition into alert level 2 which would allow for restrictions to be eased.
Wales is currently still in an alert level 4 lockdown with non-essential shops and hospitality businesses closed.
Ceredigion has the lowest case rate in Wales at 33 per 100,000 people.
But the figures in some parts of north Wales are far higher with Wrexham recording a rate of 186.1 cases per 100,000 people.
Dr Chris Williams, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 100 cases per 100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are still at nearly double that, and there have been small increases in others.
“It is encouraging to see that the numbers of people being treated for Coronavirus in our hospitals is reducing, but there are still a large number of people who are extremely ill, which means that the pressure on services is still very high.
“All of Wales remains in lockdown. We recognise that complying with the restrictions can be challenging, but Coronavirus is still active in our communities and can cause severe illness and death. The reduction in the number of cases does not mean that people can meet people from other households (apart from one person for socially distanced exercise), as this can cause the virus to spread."