Wales records lowest coronavirus rate of the four UK nations
Wales has the lowest coronavirus case rate of the four UK nations, according to new analysis.
Figures calculated by the PA news agency show Wales has an overall rate of 42.8 cases per 100,000 people in the seven days to March 5. This is the lowest rate since the seven days to September 17.
Public Health Wales data puts that figure even lower, at 41.9 cases per 100,000 people.
England's rate stands at 60.8 per 100,000 people, according to PA, while in Northern Ireland it is 65.0. For both nations this is the lowest rate since September 23.
In Scotland the rate is currently 62.9 - the lowest since September 25.
While case rates are only a snapshot, they are seen as a good indicator of how the virus is spreading or retreating across the country.
The steep fall suggests the various lockdowns in place across the country are continuing to play a key role in reducing the number of new reported cases of coronavirus.
Public Health Wales data from the seven days up to March 5 shows the majority of local areas in Wales now have below 50 cases per 100,000 people, with just eight areas over this threshold.
Ceredigion has recorded the lowest rate in Wales at just 9.6 - the only area to see single figures in Wales, and one of just a handful of areas across the UK. Pembrokeshire is the next lowest, at 15.9.
Merthyr Tydfil has the highest rate in Wales, with 86.2 cases per 100,000 people. However, this is a significant fall from the end of last year, when for a time it had the worst case rate for Covid-19 in the UK. The week before Christmas, it recorded 1,244.9 cases per 100,000.
Rates generally remain higher across north Wales, with Denbighshire the only local area to record below 50 cases per 100,000. Wrexham is highest at 72.1, although like many areas it has seen falls in recent weeks.
The highest rate anywhere in the UK is currently 149.2, for South Derbyshire.
Meanwhile, there have been a further 225 cases of coronavirus in Wales, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 205,593.
Public Health Wales reported six further deaths, taking the total in the country since the start of the pandemic to 5,412.
More than a million people in Wales have now received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
Public Health Wales said a total of 1,019,210 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine had now been given - an increase of 11,819 from the previous day.
The agency said 206,394 second doses had also been given - an increase of 14,364.
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