Two more people have died with coronavirus, according to latest figures from Public Health Wales. New data published on Thursday, March 24, and covering a 24-hour period, also show 2,743 new positive PCR test results to bring the total to 849,797.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of a positive Covid test in Wales now stands at 7,092. The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to March 19 is 424.2 cases for every 100,000 people – a rise from the 416.1 cases recorded on Wednesday. Tuesday was the first time the infection rate had gone above 400 since the seven days between January 31 and February 6.
The infection rate based on PCR tests is only a guide to the spread of Covid in Wales as it does not include lateral flow test results which are reported weekly in Wales. People with no symptoms who test positive on an LFT no longer need a confirmatory PCR test. The latest data on lateral flow tests, for the week to March 20, shows a massive increase in positive tests. There were 30,712 positive test results reported in the last seven days. That's up substantially from 21,212 the previous week and the highest weekly figure ever recorded.
Read more: The reasons why Covid infection rates are rising again in Wales
The percentage of PCR and LFT tests producing positive results has also risen across Wales. Nearly one in four (37.9%) of PCR tests is currently coming back positive while nearly a quarter of LFTs are producing positive test results (22.83%).
Infection rates in every area of Wales have risen with the highest infection rate (based on PCR tests) for the seven days up to March 19 being Blaenau Gwent with 662.7 cases per 100,000 population followed by Vale of Glamorgan with 513.5 and Monmouthshire with 470.5.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 24-hour period with 296 followed by RCT with 212, Carmarthenshire with 196, Newport with 166, Caerphilly with 137, Monmouthshire with 132, Swansea with 127, Vale of Glamorgan with 123, Flintshire with 121, Pembrokeshire and Powys both with 120, Wrexham and Bridgend both with 118, and Blaenau Gwent and Denbighshire both with 105 .
Meanwhile Gwynedd had 89 new cases, Neath Port Talbot had 85, Torfaen had 74 and Conwy had 70. The local authorities with the lowest numbers of new cases included Merthyr Tydfil with 65, Ceredigion with 51 and Anglesey with 43.
In the seven days to March 19 a total of 37.9% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result – a rise on the 37.5% reported on Wednesday. The highest positivity rates were in Blaenau Gwent (44.1%), Monmouthshire (41.5%) and Vale of Glamorgan (40.5%).
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As of March 23 there were 13 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19, down from 15 on March 22. Seven of them were based in Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB), four were in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB, one was in Swansea Bay UHB, and one was in Aneurin Bevan UHB. The fall in ICU numbers seen at the start of the year has stopped and fluctuated at around the same level for the last month.
Figures are also being published showing the number of people in hospital being specifically treated for Covid rather than testing positive for the virus but being in hospital for other reasons. They show that as of March 23 there were 728 patients in acute hospitals with confirmed Covid of whom 127 were being treated for the condition.
A total of 2,526,623 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,397,404 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,926,769 people have been given their booster jabs in Wales.
Infection rate for every 100,000 people in each area for the seven days up to March 19:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 662.7 (up from 657)
Newport: 460.3 (up from 435.7)
Caerphilly: 415.8 (up from 410.9)
Torfaen: 483.2 (up from 456.6)
Monmouthshire: 470.5 (up from 453.5)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 357.5 (up from 349)
Anglesey: 355.5 (unchanged)
Gwynedd: 431.1 (down from 444.8)
Denbighshire: 434.7 (up from 430.5)
Flintshire: 433.7 (up from 427.3)
Wrexham: 465.6 (up from 464.1)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 449.7 (up from 438.8)
Vale of Glamorgan: 513.5 (up from 498.6)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 328.2 (up from 316.6)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 454.7 (down from 455.1)
Bridgend: 340 (up from 328.5)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 430.7 (up from 414.8)
Pembrokeshire: 432.4 (up from 426.8)
Ceredigion: 426.4 (down from 455.3)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 371.5 (up from 357.2)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 316.8 (up from 308.4)
Swansea: 324.3 (up from 315.8)
Wales total: 424.2 (up from 416.1)
A decision is due this evening on whether Wales will lift all remaining coronavirus restrictions. First Minister Mark Drakeford announced earlier this month that all legal Covid measures in Wales could be removed by March 28. He said Wales will remain at alert level zero for the time being but legal requirements could go following a review on March 24 if the public health situation remains "stable".
If it does it means that on March 28 it will no longer be compulsory to wear face coverings in shops, on public transport, or in healthcare settings from that date and self-isolation will not be required by law. However plans for similar measures in Scotland to take effect from March 21 have now been pushed back due to a rise in Covid cases. And on Tuesday Mr Drakeford cast doubt on the remaining laws in Wales being allowed to lapse before the end of March, saying the Welsh Government faced a "challenging decision".
The First Minister told BBC Wales: "Up until last week we had more or less eight weeks in a row with the numbers moving in the right direction and that formed the backcloth to the hope that on March 28 we could lift all restrictions." But he said all options had to remain on the table.
On Tuesday Health Minister Eluned Morgan warned that the BA.2 subtype of Omicron, which is more transmissible and faster-moving than the original Omicron variant, is behind the spike in cases in Wales. "We believe the clinical severity of the BA.2 subtype is similar to the original variant of Omicron, which thankfully for most people will mean they will experience mild symptoms. But this doesn't mean that everyone will have a mild illness," she said. "We are watching the levels of illness in older people very carefully. And there has been a spike in hospital admissions in all age groups over the last couple of weeks."
