Powys health board warning amid rise in cases

People need to follow coronavirus rules amid a rise in cases, a health board has warned.

Powys Teaching Health Board said the number of positive cases had been "rising sharply", with the county now seeing the third-highest rate of cases in Wales.

Latest figures show 220 people in the area have now died with the virus.

Stuart Bourne, director of public health in Powys, said the rise could be a result of recent outbreaks.

The health board area currently has a case rate of 117 cases per 100,000 people but has risen above the Welsh average, which is falling.

The latest weekly mortality figures show Powys reported its second highest weekly deaths total involving Covid-19 since the pandemic began.

Altogether, there have been 220 deaths involving Covid since last March in the county, 17 in the most recent week.

Public Health Wales has reported a total of 56 deaths for the area, but these do not include people who have died across the English border.

Mr Bourne said the higher numbers were "partly due to outbreaks of Covid-19 in specific settings across the county", as well as new variants of the virus.

He said it was "vital" all employees in workplaces followed guidance - in particular car sharing and congregating "should not take place" and "if at all possible, people should be working from home".

"Workplaces provide an opportunity for infection to spread, especially in settings where people work closely, where there is a high throughput of staff and where the environment may allow the virus to persist."

He added that "there is evidence that a new, more infectious strain of Covid-19 is circulating in Powys".

"The 'Kent' variant is now commonly being isolated in the test results of Powys residents. This is concerning because it is more easily spread and it is more likely that exposure to the virus will lead to infection.

"This is why it remains vital that we all continue to follow the advice to stay at home, follow social distancing rules and wear face coverings in indoor public places.

"Vaccination does offer the hope of a brighter future, but for now it is crucial that we continue to do all we can to protect ourselves and others from Covid-19."

According to data published on Tuesday, Wales has an overall case rate of 88 cases per 100,000 people, a figure which has consistently fallen in recent weeks.

Ceredigion continues to have the lowest case rate at 24.8 per 100,000 people, followed by Pembrokeshire (40.5), Bridgend (55.8) and Monmouthshire (57.1).

Wrexham, with 137.5 cases per 100,000 people, and Flintshire (127.5), still have the highest case rates, although both have reported consecutive falls in recent days.