Covid: Record lows for patients in Welsh hospitals
- Published
The Grange Hospital in the Aneurin Bevan Health Board area has had no Covid patients in critical care for two weeks
Covid cases in hospitals in Wales have hit record lows since the start of the pandemic, NHS Wales figures show.
Admissions of confirmed and suspected Covid cases are in single figures for the first time across all Welsh hospitals - and the average for the last week is at a record low.
There were only two patients with Covid in critical care or on ventilation in Welsh hospitals on Thursday.
There have been none at all at Aneurin Bevan Health Board for two weeks.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg hospitals have also had no critical care Covid patients for 11 days.
The numbers of patients with non-Covid conditions - either emergencies or after serious surgery - outnumber Covid patients now by 84 to one.
A year ago, at the height of the first wave of the pandemic, Welsh hospitals had about 100 patients in critical care or on ventilation. That number peaked at 164 patients on 18 April 2020, with more than 40 patients each in critical care in Aneurin Bevan and Swansea Bay health boards.
Despite alternative treatments in the second wave to try to avoid critical care as much as possible, at the peak there were still 150 patients in critical care in mid-January.
The average number of Covid patients in hospital beds - 260 a day in the last week - has also equalled the lowest figure back in September. These include recovering Covid patients.
Only nine Covid patients were admitted to Welsh hospitals on Thursday and the weekly average is at a low - 13 a day.
Infections estimated to be continuing to fall
It comes as the latest swab survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates Covid infections are continuing to fall in Wales.
It takes throat and nose swab tests from thousands of volunteers in Wales.
It suggests 1,900 in Wales had Covid-19 in the week to 24 April, a decrease.
This is one in 1,570 people - or 0.06%. This compares to one in 840 people in the previous week.
ONS estimates that 170 new people a day are getting Covid in Wales, external but this is down from 5,000 a day in mid-December.
The positivity rate estimate is lowest in Wales than the other UK nations. It's 0.10% in England, 0.16% in Scotland and 0.11% in Northern Ireland.
Estimates range from one in 300 people in the Aneurin Bevan health board area, covering east Wales, to one in 560 people in Swansea Bay.
- Published28 May
