Coronavirus infection rates, cases and deaths for all parts of Wales on Monday, January 25
A further 23 people have died with the virus and another 6,295 have received a dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. The Wales-wide continues to fall
Mark SmithHealth Correspondent
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Another 23 people have died with coronavirus in Wales and more than 800 new positive cases have been identified.
Latest figures from Public Health Wales published on Monday, January 25 show 872 new cases of the virus have been recorded to bring the total since the pandemic began to 188,583. The overall death total with lab-confirmed coronavirus now stands at 4,553 in Wales.
Following the latest figures, the Wales infection rate is now down to 230.6 cases per 100,000 people based on the seven days up to January 20. That is a decrease on the 245 previously reported.
Moving below a level of 300 cases for every 100,000 and remaining there over a sustained period is one of the key benchmarks for moving out of alert level four lockdown.
However, other measures watched by the Welsh Government suggest any change may not come quickly. The percentage of tests coming back positive is still significantly above the 10% benchmark. See the full details of the lockdown tiers here.
The positive proportion of individuals testing positive for Covid across Wales in the seven days up to January 20 was 15.2%. Wrexham had the highest percentage with 23.2%, Flintshire was second with 21.8% and Bridgend was third with 17.8%
PHW data also shows 270,833 people have now received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine as of 10pm on Sunday, up only 6,295 on the figure published on Sunday.
This smaller than normal rise can be blamed primarily on the fact many parts of the country experienced significant snowfall on Sunday which led to mass vaccination centres shutting in areas such as Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB.
Meanwhile 543 people have now received both of their vaccine jabs.
Uptake of the first dose by priority group (according to PHW)
80 years and older: 88,005 received first dose (48.1%).
Care home residents: 11,144 received first dose (66.2%).
Care home workers: 24,023 received first dose (74%).
Healthcare worker: 97,888 received first dose (percentage not given).
Deaths reported today: 23
Cases reported today: 872
Number of tests carried out: 12,919 (Down from 13,224)
Total deaths with lab-confirmed coronavirus in Wales: 4,553
Total number of people who have received a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine: 270,833
Total number of people who have received a two dose course of Covid-19 vaccine: 543
Wrexham remains the local authority with the highest infection rate in Wales with a seven-day rate of 551.6 cases per 100,000 population, which is down from 564.1 on Sunday.
Flintshire has the second highest rate with 413.8 cases per 100,000, down from 425.4 the day before.
Newport is third with 300 per 100,000 population, down from 315.5.
Cardiff reported the most new daily cases of the virus with 118, followed by Wrexham with 70, Flintshire with 64, RCT with 63, Carmarthenshire with 58 and Swansea with 49.
Caerphilly had 46, Vale of Glamorgan had 42, Bridgend had 36, Newport had 35, Neath Port Talbot had 39 and Powys had 30.
Many local authorities had less than 30 new cases reported on Sunday including Denbighshire with 28, Torfaen with 27, Pembrokeshire with 24, Blaenau Gwent with 19, Monmouthshire with 17, Gwynedd with 13, Anglesey with 11, Merthyr Tydfil with 10, Conwy with eight and Ceredigion with four.
Cases per 100,000 for rolling seven days (January 14 to January 20)
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board
Newport: 300 (Down from 315.5)
Torfaen: 213.9 (Down from 233.1)
Caerphilly: 198.8 (Down from 208.8)
Monmouthshire: 135.3 (Down from 141.7)
Blaenau Gwent: 148.9 (Down from 158.9)
Wrexham: 551.6 (Down from 564.1)
Flintshire: 413.8 (Down from 425.4)
Denbighshire: 290.5 (Down from 308.3)
Gwynedd: 172.6 (Down from 194.3)
Conwy: 151.9 (Down from 161.3)
Anglesey: 149.9 (Up from 142.8)
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Vale of Glamorgan: 215.6 (Down from 244)
Cardiff: 235.5 (Down from 251)
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board
Bridgend: 252.3 (Down from 289)
Merthyr Tydfil: 213.8 (Down from 237)
Rhondda Cynon Taf: 197.7 (Down from 211)
Carmarthenshire: 224.6 (Up from 222.5)
Ceredigion: 129.3 (Down from 155.4)
Pembrokeshire: 170.9 (Down from 174.1)
Powys Teaching Health Board
Powys: 155.5 (Down from 180.5)
Swansea Bay University Health Board
Neath Port Talbot: 235.8 (Down from 250.5)
Swansea: 148.6 (Down from 160.3)
Wales total - 230.6 (Down from245.1)
Commenting on vaccine roll-out on Monday, Health Minister Vaughan Gething said: "The very latest figures show almost 271,000 people have had their first dose of the vaccine.
"We have vaccinated 8.7% of the population in just seven weeks. Vaccination is our number one priority. We are doing everything we can to make sure people get the vaccine as quickly as possible."
He added: "Our focus is on achieving the next two markers we have set out in our vaccination strategy - to offer vaccination to all care home residents and staff by the end of January and for the vaccine to be delivered in 250 GP practices across Wales.
"This week we will also continue to increase the amount of information we publish about the vaccination programme.
"Starting tomorrow (Tues), we will publish information about the amount of vaccine received, the amount supplied and the amount of vaccines, which are not suitable for use in Wales, on a health board basis."
Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: "Public Health Wales is working with Public Health England and other UK partners to monitor the impact and spread of the UK variant, and to detect and monitor other virus variants. As reported last week, there is evidence which suggests that the UK variant of concern may lead to a higher risk of death than the non-variant.
"We continue to investigate and respond to the spread of the variant and its impact in Wales. Evidence is still emerging and more work is underway to fully understand how it behaves.
"It is important to remember that all current variants of Covid-19 are still spreading and can cause severe illness and death. Therefore it is important to stay at home, and to reduce opportunities for spread by keeping your distance, washing hands regularly, and covering your face.
"All of Wales remains in lockdown. We ask that the public adopts the same mindset for this lockdown as they did in March 2020. We understand that people are fatigued but because the new, more infectious variant of coronavirus is circulating across Wales it is vital that we all keep to the lockdown restrictions and do not meet other people.
"This means that you must stay at home. If exercising outdoors, please do this alone or with members of your household or support bubble only. Shop online, but if you do need to visit essential retail then do this alone, if possible, to minimise numbers of people in retail spaces, and avoid stopping to chat with people outside your household. If you must leave home keep your distance, wash your hands regularly, and wear a face mask when required according to the regulations.
"Public Health Wales urges everyone to follow the rules, to avoid transmission of coronavirus and to protect everyone in our communities, including the most vulnerable."