Wales has seen another encouraging fall in its Covid infection rate but another part of the UK has recorded a rise. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) infection survey for the week ending September 5 shows the estimated number of people testing positive for Covid was 28,200, equating to 0.93% of the population or around one in 110 people.
That is a fall on the 31,500 (1.04%%), or around one in 95 people, recorded in Wales for the week ending August 28. The rate of positive cases appears to be highest in the region covering Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan although differences between the regions are described as "small". The region covering Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon Taf, and Merthyr Tydfil has lower rates of positivity.
Across the UK as a whole Covid-19 infections are falling but not all parts of the country are showing a clear downward trend. The ONS said a total of 881,200 people in private households in the UK are estimated to have had coronavirus in the seven days to September 5. This is a drop of 7% from 944,700 in the previous week and is the lowest total since the seven days to September 25, 2021.
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UK infections hit 3.8m in early July this year during the spread of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants of the virus but have been on a broadly downward path in recent weeks. In England the percentage of people testing positive for coronavirus in the week to September 5 was 705,800 or around one in 75, down from 770,800, or around one in 70, in the seven days to August 28. In Northern Ireland the latest estimate is 33,700, or around one in 55 people, compared with 38,000, or one in 50 the previous week.
However Scotland saw an increase in its infection rate. The estimated number of people testing positive for Covid-19 was 113,500, equating to 2.16% of the population or around one in 45 people. The week before it was 104,400 people or one in 50.
Meanwhile the number of people in hospital with Covid is also decreasing in Wales. On September 13 of the 182 in acute hospitals with Covid just 12 (7%) were people being activity treated for for the virus. Six coronavirus patients in Wales were in invasive ventilated beds in intensive care on September 13 – three of whom were in the Cardiff and Vale UHB area, one was in Hywel Dda UHB, one was in Swansea Bay UHB, and one was in Betsi Cadwaladr UHB.
Eligible adults in Wales are being invited for an autumn Covid booster vaccine. The rollout began at the start of September to improve the immunity of those at higher risk from the virus. A single dose of the vaccine is being offered to:
- Residents in care homes for older adults
- Staff in care homes for older adults
- Frontline health and social care workers
- All adults aged 50 years and over
- People aged five to 49 years in a clinical risk group
- People aged five to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
- People aged 16-49 who are carers
In line with advice from the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation eligible adults aged 18 and above will initially be offered the Moderna vaccine which protects from both the original Covid virus and the Omicron variant. Those eligible aged under 18 will be offered the Pfizer vaccine. Both vaccines will be offered at least three months after a previous dose. Adults will mostly be invited via letter to attend a vaccination centre, GP, or pharmacy for their jab.
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Wales has the lowest Covid infection rate of any UK nation by some distance
