ANOTHER person has died from coronavirus in Gwent, and there have been a further 69 cases confirmed in the area today.
The death - which takes the total in Gwent to 290, and in Wales as a whole to 1,712, according to Public Health Wales - is the only one to be confirmed in Wales, on the day when a two-week 'fire-break' lockdown has been announced across the country, to begin at 6pm next Friday, October 23.
But 626 more cases have been confirmed across Wales.
In Gwent, 28 new cases have been confirmed in Caerphilly county borough, 13 in Newport, 12 in Blaenau Gwent, 11 in Monmouthshire, and five in Torfaen.
And despite the impending two weeks of what First Minister Mark Drakeford called "sharp and deep" lockdown, we are likely to see high daily numbers of cases continue beyond the November 9 end date.
Mr Drakeford told the Welsh Government coronavirus media briefing earlier today that the lockdown is unlikely to have an immediate effect on case numbers, but that any benefit will only emerge after it is finished.
READ MORE:
- What the two week fire-break lockdown in Wales means for you
- Why regions with fewer coronavirus cases are included in circuit-break lockdown
- Remembrance Sunday events in Wales to continue despite circuit-breaker lockdown
Sign up to the South Wales Argus daily coronavirus update email newsletter by registering here.
The rolling weekly case rates in Gwent - to October 16 - make grim reading once more, with the rate in Blaenau Gwent now at 161.7 per 100,000 population. While this is way down on that in the county borough some three weeks ago, it has risen in the past 10 days, though five other partso f Wales currently have higher such rates.
Cardiff currently has the highest rolling weekly case rate in Wales, at 266.6 per 100,000. Merthyr Tydfil is next with 203.9, followed by Bridgend (189.7) and Rhondda Cynon Taf (163.7).
The other rolling weekly case rates for Gwent are: Caerphilly - 100.5 per 100,000; Monmouthshire - 78.2; Torfaen - 73.4; Newport - 62.7.
Worryingly, proportions of positive tests have continued to rise too. In Blaenau Gwent for the week to October 16, 14.3 per cent - or about one in seven - people tested returned a positive result for coronavirus.
But in Cardiff it was nearer one-in-five (18.9 per cent) and in Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf, it was 15.9 per cent and 15.7 per cent respectively.
Today's confirmed cases in Wales are as follows:
Cardiff - 103
Swansea - 59
Flint - 46
Wrexham - 46
Bridgend - 45
Neath Port Talbot - 45
Rhondda Cynon Taf - 37
Caerphilly - 28
Conwy - 22
Denbighshire - 21
Merthyr Tydfil - 19
Anglesey - 15
Gwynedd - 15
Newport - 13
Blaenau Gwent - 12
Monmouthshire - 11
Carmarthenshire - 10
Powys - nine
Pembrokeshire - seven
Torfaen - five
Vale of Glamorgan - five
Ceredigion - three
Unknown location - five
Resident outside Wales - 44
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel