Covid: Schools in Wales see more than 10,000 cases

There have been more than 10,000 cases of Covid-19 among pupils and staff in Welsh schools since the start of term.

Latest figures for the last three weeks of September show a total of 10,551 positive tests, including 4,190 in primary and 5,478 in secondary schools.

However, preliminary figures for the last week were down 44% from 4,187 cases to 2,336.

It comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate one in 55 people in Wales have Covid-19.

In addition to the positive cases recorded for primary and secondary schools in Wales, there were a further 883 cases linked to other educational settings, such as special schools and pupil referral units.

Swansea and Neath Port Talbot - an area which has seen some of the highest Covid case rates - accounts for nearly a fifth of school-linked cases.

Rhondda Cynon Taf, which has also seen a spike in Covid cases, has had 943 Covid cases linked to schools.

Across Wales, 131 schools had more than 20 Covid cases in the past month.

However, Public Health Wales (PHW) has stressed that although these cases are all linked to school-age children and staff, it does not mean that all infections were caught or transmitted in schools.

Its officials also said the fall in cases recorded over the last week was likely to underestimate the true picture, as more results were expected to come in covering the most recent few days.

But in response to the number of infections, Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board, which covers Merthyr Tydfil, Rhondda Cynon Taf and Bridgend, said face masks would be re-introduced for secondary school pupils, including wearing them during lessons.

The health board said the decision was taken by the Regional Covid-19 Incident Management Team.

"Reintroducing face masks in secondary schools is a precautionary measure designed to offer extra protection from infection to our young people," said Angela Jones, the health board's deputy director of public health.

"We'd like to stress that this measure is temporary, and will be reviewed at the beginning of half-term."

The move comes as the ONS survey of infections, carried out using swab tests, suggested 53,300 people have the virus in Wales - equivalent to 1.76% of the population.

The ONS figures estimated that 6% of 10-year-olds in Wales, just over 7% of 13-year-olds and 7% of those who are 14, have the infection.

It drops to just 1.6% among those aged 40 - and only 0.7% of those who are 70 years old.

Infection rates estimated from the swab survey are identical in Scotland, but slightly higher in Northern Ireland, where one in 65 people are thought to have Covid-19.

In England, the figures are one in 85 of the population.

On Friday, Public Health Wales said a further 3,009 people had tested positive for Covid, and there have been five more deaths.

It brings the total number of deaths in Wales to 5,897.

However, the case rate in Wales has now fallen for the third consecutive day, to 638.4 cases for every 100,000 people.

The time it takes for case numbers to double has also increased to 38 days, also suggesting a slow-down in Covid infections.

There are currently 425 patients with Covid in hospital, including 109 in Cwm Taf Morgannwg hospitals and 82 in Betsi Cadwaladr health board, which covers north Wales.