Increase in Covid cases forces hospital wards to suspend visits in west Wales

The health board said the situation is being reviewed regularly and a further update will be made as soon as it is safe to do so.

A Health board in West Wales has been forced to suspend visiting to all hospitals immediately due to increased cases of Covid-19 in the community.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said visitors would be allowed with prior arrangements in some instances, such as end of life and critical visits.

Last month the health board was also faced with "multiple challenges" and postponed operations and close some wards due to an increase in patients being admitted with coronavirus.

The counties in the health board area, Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, each have Covid case rates above 600 per 100,000 people.

Around one in 45 people in Wales are infected with coronavirus - the highest since estimates began on July 2020, according to the latest figures.

The health board said restrictions would not affect the current visiting arrangements around maternity services.

It added all visitors must carry out lateral flow tests at home prior to travelling to the hospital.

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