MORE than 100 coronavirus deaths have been confirmed in Gwent during the past two weeks, among over 500 across Wales, according to Public Health Wales.

Seven more deaths have been confirmed in Gwent today, taking the number in the last fortnight to 111 - and throughout Wales, the total during the same period is 508.

Since the pandemic began, 662 people have died of coronavirus in Gwent, again according to Public Health Wales, out of 3,429 in Wales.

A further 329 cases have been confirmed in Gwent today, with the total for the area since the pandemic began, now at 30,185.

Almost a third of these have been in Caerphilly county borough (9,959) and a quarter in Newport (7,820). Today's new Gwent cases are: Caerphilly, 111; Newport, 93; Torfaen, 57; Monmouthshire, 41; Blaenau Gwent, 27.

Across Wales, 2,281 more cases have been confirmed today, taking the total to 146,706.

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The rolling weekly case rate for Wales - for the week to Christmas Day - was 436.4 per 100,000 population, down again on recent days' rates, and a fall reflected across much of Wales.

Public Health Wales is warning however, that due to a lag in receiving data, cases sampled in recent days will not be fully reflected in the published figures, so the most recent incidence provided, is likely to be an underestimate.

All five Gwent council areas recorded falling weekly case rates in the days leading up to Christmas Day, the latest date for which figures are available.

Blaenau Gwent continues to have the highest rolling weekly case rate in Gwent, at 654.1 per 100,000, which is still the third highest in Wales, out of 22 council areas.

Case rates for other parts of Gwent for the week to December 25, are: Newport, 538.5 per 100,000 (eighth highest in Wales); Torfaen 549.2 (sixth highest in Wales); Caerphilly, 518 (10th highest in Wales); Monmouthshire, 317.2 (15th highest in Wales).

Bridgend has the highest case rate in Wales, at 841.2 per 100,000, followed by Merthyr Tydfil, with 752.6.

The newly confirmed cases in Wales today, are:

Cardiff - 261

Swansea - 219

Carmarthenshire - 187

Wrexham - 167

Rhondda Cynon Taf - 166

Bridgend - 156

Vale of Glamorgan - 127

Flintshire - 116

Caerphilly - 111

Newport - 93

Neath Port Talbot - 83

Denbighshire - 67

Torfaen - 57

Powys - 44

Monmouthshire - 41

Merthyr Tydfil - 41

Pembrokeshire - 38

Ceredigion - 35

Blaenau Gwent - 27

Conwy - 27

Anglesey - 18

Gwynedd - 16

Unknown location - 24

Resident outside Wales - 160

Public Health Wales figures include reports of the deaths of hospitalised patients in Welsh hospitals, or care home residents, where Covid-19 has been confirmed with a positive laboratory test and the clinician suspects this was a causative factor in the death.

They do not include people who may have died of Covid-19 but who were not confirmed by laboratory testing, those who died in other settings, or Welsh residents who died outside of Wales, and the true number of Covid-19 deaths will be higher.

The Office for National Statistics - which counts all deaths in which coronavirus is mentioned on the death certificate - puts the number of deaths in Wales much higher.