THE number of people in Wales to die since testing positive for Covid-19 now stands at 584, with 9 more deaths reported in the last 24 hours.

The latest figures from Public Health Wales (PHW) show there were also 276 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Wales since Saturday.

The total number of confirmed cases in Wales now stands at 7,546, although the true figure is expected to be much higher.

In the Gwent region, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) reported 41 new cases.

Of those, 12 were in Caerphilly, eight in Blaenau Gwent, six in Newport, eight in Torfaen and seven in Monmouthshire.

There have now been 200 cumulative deaths in Gwent from the disease.

Dr Giri Shankar, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Based on the new case numbers there is emerging evidence suggesting a levelling-off in the number of new cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales, which may be an indication of the effectiveness of lockdown measures.

"However, it is still too early to tell for sure, and it is too soon to end the current social distancing rules. Public Health Wales continues to fully support the extension of lockdown measures, which is essential to avoid reversing the gains we have made in slowing the spread of this virus, protecting our NHS, and saving lives.”

"While emphasising the importance of staying at home, we also want to reinforce the message from NHS Wales that urgent and emergency care services for physical and mental health are still open and accessible.

“For parents, if your child is unwell and you are concerned you should seek help. If you have urgent dental pain you should still call your dentist. If you have a health complaint that is worrying you and won’t go away you should call your GP practice. If you or a family member are seriously ill or injured you should dial 999 or attend your nearest Emergency Department.

“We will be increasing our testing capacity in the weeks and months to come and it will be essential for us to exploit all possible technology to create a streamlined and digitally enabled process to support this.

“Anyone with a suspected coronavirus illness should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.

“Only call 999 if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, do not call 999 just because you are on hold to 111. We appreciate that 111 lines are busy, but you will get through after a wait."