Covid hospital admissions in Wales at lowest point in pandemic

Hospital admissions for patients with Covid are now at their lowest point in the whole of the pandemic, NHS Wales figures show.

The daily average for patients being admitted with confirmed and suspected Covid stood at 37 in the week to Sunday. This is lower than in August.

More than 60% of the 260 admissions for Covid in the last seven days were in the Aneurin Bevan health board area.

Covid cases now make up just 3.6% of all hospital admissions.

The figures after the weekend also showed:

• The number of Covid patients in hospital on 14 March was 1,009 - and the daily average (1,077) is the lowest since 29 October.

• Confirmed and suspected cases are down to a fifth of the record levels we saw in late December and back to numbers last seen in mid-September.

• A total of 28 people were being treated on invasive ventilated beds, including in critical care, for confirmed or suspected coronavirus on 14 March. This is about a fifth of the patients in mid-January and the lowest since 13 October.

• There were 11 more patients in critical care or on ventilation than the normal non-pandemic capacity, but nearly five times as many non-Covid critical care patients than those with the virus.

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Hospital admissions are one of the indicators ministers are looking closely at, with the aim of easing Covid restrictions further.

NHS Wales was unable to provide figures to show the age profile of the recent admissions, to indicate whether the vaccination of priority groups was having an effect.

But analysis by Public Health England of people over 80 who had been given a first dose suggested it could reduce the need for hospital treatment by more than 80%.

Rates of Covid in the community in Wales have fallen in recent weeks and the latest case rate, 39.1 cases per 100,000, is the lowest since 16 September.