A further five people have died with coronavirus in Wales according to latest figures published by Public Health Wales.
New data released on Wednesday, February 23, and covering a 24-hour period to 9am on Tuesday, February 22, shows 903 new positive cases, bringing the total to 810,785.
The overall number of people who have died within 28 days of testing positive in Wales has now risen to 6,961.
Read more: Newspaper writer says Wales is becoming a dystopian experiment in economic quackery
The latest infection rate based on PCR tests for the seven days up to February 18 now stands at 208.8 cases for every 100,000 people – a reduction from the 233.5 cases recorded on Tuesday.
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, published last Thursday for the week to February 12, show there have been a further 16,905 positive test results reported. That's down from 18,690 the previous week. Positivity also decreased from 11.87% to 10.24%. The highest incidence rate was in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area with 680.2 positive tests for every 100,000 people.
The area of Wales with the highest infection rate for the seven days up to February 18 was Cardiff with 269 followed by Ceredigion with 264.1 and Carmarthenshire with 251.
Cardiff recorded the most positive cases over the latest 24-hour period with 184 followed by Carmarthenshire with 86, RCT with 68, Swansea with 63, Vale of Glamorgan with 62 and Bridgend with 59.
Meanwhile Pembrokeshire had 37 new cases, Newport had 36, Neath Port Talbot had 35, Flintshire had 34, Caerphilly had 33, Monmouthshire and Torfaen had 24 each and Blaenau Gwent had 22.
The areas with the lowest new cases reported were Wrexham with 21, Ceredigion with 20, Powys with 19, Conwy with 17, Merthyr Tydfil with 12, Denbighshire and Gwynedd with 10 apiece and Anglesey with one.
In the seven days to February 18 a total of 23.8% of PCR tests across Wales gave a positive result, a fall on the 24.5% reported on Tuesday. The highest positivity rates were in Cardiff (28.5%), Vale of Glamorgan (27%) and Swansea (26.1%).
As of February 22 there were 11 patients in ventilated intensive care beds with confirmed Covid-19. This is well below the Omicron wave peak of 39 on January 5.
New figures are also being published showing the number of people being specifically treated for Covid rather than testing positive for the virus but being in hospital for other reasons. As of February 22 out of 370 patients in acute hospitals with Covid there were only 94 people actively being treated for Covid in Wales (25%).
A total of 2,518,753 people have received one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 2,382,807 have been given two doses. Meanwhile 1,894,329 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 February 18:
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Blaenau Gwent: 227.6 (down from 250.5)
Newport: 175.2 (down from 208.8)
Caerphilly: 169 (down from 186.1)
Torfaen: 191.6 (down from 210.7)
Monmouthshire: 225.2 (down from 248.4)
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
Conwy: 207.3 (down from 223.5)
Anglesey: 151.3 (down from 162.8)
Gwynedd: 180.6 (down from 213.6)
Denbighshire: 188.1 (down from 202.7)
Flintshire: 207.6 (down from 228.1)
Wrexham: 190.5 (down from 205.9)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff: 269 (down from 305)
Vale of Glamorgan: 236.5 (down from 273.2)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Merthyr Tydfil: 200.6 (down from 218.8)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 189.8 (down from 207.2)
Bridgend: 166.6 (down from 185)
Hywel Dda University Health Board
Carmarthenshire: 251.1 (down from 281.8)
Pembrokeshire: 194.7 (down from 224.1)
Ceredigion: 264.1 (down from 319.1)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 191 (down from 207.6)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 201.7 (down from 221.2)
Swansea: 200.4 (down from 221.9)
Wales total: 208.8 (down from 233.5)
The headlines from the latest ONS infection survey published at 2pm on Wednesday, February 23, suggest the percentage of people testing positive for Covid in Wales decreased during the week ending February 19. It means cases in Wales have fallen for the second week in a row and Wales has the lowest incidence of Covid out of all the UK home nations.
It estimated 98,200 people in Wales, equivalent to one in 30, had Covid in the week ending February 19. In England it was one in 25 people. In Scotland one in 20 people had Covid in the same week, while in Northern Ireland it was around one in 14.
The legal requirement to show a Covid pass to enter certain venues and events has now been lifted in Wales and from Monday, February 28, face coverings will no longer need to be worn in all indoor public places. Schools will be able to set their own rules from the same date. You can read the full list of changes here.
Get the latest Wales news emailed to you for free by signing up for our newsletters here.
