Ceredigion: 'Use antibody tests to examine deaths increase,' says council leader

In the first 17 weeks of the year 342 deaths were registered in Ceredigion - 22% more than the five-year average

Coronavirus antibody tests should be used to establish if the virus was in Ceredigion earlier than thought, its council leader has declared.

Deaths at the start of 2020 were 22% higher than the five-year average, figures obtained by Newyddion S4C show.

Ellen ap Gwynn said she was "almost certain" she was infected with the virus after falling ill in January.

The health board said it was looking into the data but had not yet identified "anything unusual".

The local authority chief's calls follow those of MP Ben Lake.

The figures shows that in the first 17 weeks of this year, 342 deaths were registered.

Deaths in January, February and March this year were higher than they have been in those months for at least a decade.

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"I personally suspect Covid may have reached Ceredigion earlier, as I fell ill in January with the exact symptoms associated with the virus," Ms ap Gwynn said.

"I would like to see the antibody tests being made available to more people."

The tests can confirm whether a person had previously been infected.

According to the Office for National Statistics, seven people died with Covid-19 in Ceredigion

She said it would be "interesting" to know how many had been infected to better trace the virus' spread.

Marilyn Jones' mother-in-law, Nel Phillips, died on 8 January. The cause was a chest infection.

Ms Jones said Ms Phillips was "breathless and coughing".

"It was awful seeing her struggling to breathe. And then she died in my arms. It was heartbreaking," she said.

In February Ms Jones also fell ill.

"I was short of breath, was in terrible pain, had a high temperature," she said.

She also suspects Covid-19 was in Ceredigion before lockdown. 

"And I was bedridden for three days. I wouldn't be at all surprised to discover it was Covid. It was so different to a normal bug."

Hywel Dda University Health Board's medical director and deputy chief executive, Phil Kloer, said: "We are looking into the detail behind the data and so far have not identified anything unusual, and we will work with Public Health Wales experts to analyse the data further."

"The mortality data does vary from month to month and year to year, and the variation can be larger when using single county data," he said.

Ceredigion has the lowest number of confirmed Covid-19 deaths in Wales.

Council leader Ellen ap Gwynn believes she was infected with the illness in January

According to the Office for National Statistics seven people have died in the county with the virus. 

The Welsh Government said antibody tests were currently given to "defined groups" - school staff, health and care workers and care home residents.

A spokesman said: "Anyone who has Covid-19 symptoms can and should be tested at one of the many testing centres set up around Wales or via a home testing kit."