Covid: How many people have died in Wales?
Two more people have died with coronavirus in Wales, according to Public Health Wales (PHW).
There have been 5,454 deaths with Covid reported to PHW since the start of the pandemic. Another 248 cases have also been reported, taking the total number of positive tests to 206,653. The seven-day coronavirus case rate in Wales has remained at 39 cases per 100,000 people, the lowest since 16 September. There was one death in Swansea Bay health board area and another in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area. The number of people who have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine increased by 9,433 to 1,122,931 and second doses were up by nearly 6,900 to 264,255. What is happening in Merthyr Tydfil? Merthyr Tydfil continues to have the highest rate of Covid cases in Wales, with 144.2 cases per 100,000 people in the last week. This is also the seventh highest in the UK at the moment. This is its highest point in six weeks but still a long way from the levels seen in previous months. It hit a peak of 1,349 cases per 100,000 - the UK's highest a week before Christmas. Gellideg and Merthyr Town is the localised hotpot with 40 cases in the last week, nearly half of those in the county. The council has deployed a mobile testing unit to the Swansea Road estate in the meantime. Ceredigion (5.5) has the lowest number of cases followed by Pembrokeshire (14.3) and Monmouthshire (16.9). Merthyr Tydfil has one of only three localised hotspots in Wales where case rates are above 200 cases per 100,000. The others are in Penrhyn Bay, Conwy and Holyhead on Anglesey. We can look at case rates broken down by community - or what are known as middle layer super output areas (MSOAs). There are 410 of these communities, each with a population of 7,000 on average. With low case numbers, these are now more widespread around Wales and even more sensitive to local spikes in the community or in care homes. More than 230 of these areas now have case numbers too low to register - fewer than three cases in the last week - and show up blue on the map above. After Merthyr, Anglesey (92.8) and Conwy (70.0) are the next highest for local authority case rates. Ceredigion (5.5) has the lowest number of cases followed by Pembrokeshire (14.3) and Monmouthshire (16.9). Wales' positivity rate - the proportion of tests coming back positive - is 3.7%, its lowest point since 20 September. As an average, Wales and 16 local areas are within the "circuit breaker" thresholds for both positivity rate and case rate, seen as key indicators for restrictions to be eased. How many people are infected? Infections are continuing to fall in Wales, according to the weekly Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey. It took throat and nose swab tests from hundreds of households in Wales. From the results, it can estimate that 8,300 people in Wales had Covid-19 in the week to 6 March, the lowest estimate for five months. This is one in 365 people - down from one in 285 people, or 0.27%. When broken down into health board areas, the household survey results led to infection estimates ranging from one in 260 people in Aneurin Bevan to one in 420 in Swansea Bay. But these are based on much smaller sample sizes. The modelling was based on swab tests from 10,391 people. Similar surveys suggested infections were falling or levelling off in other parts of the UK, estimating one in 270 people in England, one in 320 people in Scotland and one in 310 people in Northern Ireland had the virus in the same week. Why are there different death figures? The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show Covid was mentioned on 7,592 death certificates, up to 26 February. This gives a bigger picture and includes deaths where Covid is either confirmed or suspected by doctors and covers deaths in all settings, including care homes, hospices and people's homes. The ONS figures show the weekly total has fallen for the sixth successive week. When looking at the number of all deaths and comparing them over a period of five non-pandemic years to what we might normally expect to see, this shows 5,447 deaths above the average. Find out how the pandemic has affected your area and how it compares with the national average: A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection are required to view this interactive. How many cases and deaths in your area? Enter a full UK postcode or council name to find out If you can't see the look-up click here. The postcode search has been updated to replace data for health boards in Scotland with data for local councils. In England, data for county councils has been replaced with data for district councils. Figures for boroughs and unitary authorities remain unchanged. PHW figures only record deaths which have a confirmed Covid-19 diagnosis, backed up by a laboratory test, and mostly involve hospital deaths. ONS takes a little longer to report deaths because it collates details of death registrations. In about 90% of cases, it is the underlying cause of death. Related Internet Links Public Health Wales