Covid-19: Rise in infections in Wales according to ONS

Covid-19 infections in Wales have risen to their highest levels in a month.

One in 45 people had Covid in the week ending 11 June, according to estimates by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)

That is 64,800 people - or 2.13% of the population. It's up from last week, when only one in 75 people were estimated to have Covid.

The findings are based on a weekly swab survey, which took samples from more than 4,800 people in Wales.

ONS estimated infections rose in other UK nations too and were highest in Scotland.

It said the rise was likely to have been caused by infections in the Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5.

The estimate for Wales is higher than in England and higher than five of the nine English regions.

Daily estimates of infection are highest in three and four year olds and lowest in older people in Wales.

With the end of mass testing for Covid in March, the ONS survey - which has taken samples from thousands of households for nearly two years - is the most accurate way of telling what's happening with the virus.

The current infections estimate is about a third of the levels we saw at the peak of the Omicron wave in January.

And despite a rise in community infections, these are still not translating into a noticeable rise in hospital patients being treated primarily for symptoms of Covid.

Separate hospital figures show a rise in people testing positive for Covid in acute hospital beds - but only 24 people were actually being treated "actively" for Covid.

The Digital Health and Care Wales figures show 86% of patients with Covid positive tests were being treated for something else.

There were only four patients being primarily treated for Covid in critical care across Wales on Thursday.