Covid: More cases but fewer deaths in third wave

More people are testing positive for Covid in Wales' third wave than in its second but the rate of deaths is lower, official figures show.

Public Health Wales (PHW) stats show by day 44 of wave two the average number of daily deaths was 5.4.

That is six times higher than the number recorded at the same point of the third wave - 0.8.

Of the 20 UK local authority areas with the lowest Covid case rates, more than half are in Wales.

Pembrokeshire has the lowest case rate on mainland UK with 76.3 cases per 100,000 of the population, with Neath Port Talbot the second lowest.

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There are signs of a slow down in the number of daily Covid cases, which are currently doubling about every 16 days compared with every 11 days a week ago.

How many Covid deaths have there been?

PHW said three more people had died with Covid on Monday, bringing the total number of deaths to 5,589.

The deaths reported on Monday occurred on Thursday and Friday - two in Betsi Cadwaladr health board, which covers north Wales, and one in Cwm Taf Morgannwg health board, which covers Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

It means six deaths have occurred in the past seven days.

Monday's data covers 48 hours up to 09:00 on Sunday.

How many cases have there been?

PHW also reported 2,053 new cases, bringing the total to 232,672 - with the case rate now 177.3 per 100,000 people in the past seven days.

Denbighshire has now overtaken Wrexham as the Welsh local authority with the highest case rate with 395 cases per 100,000 people.

How many people have been vaccinated?

As of Monday 2,282,410 people in Wales has been given a first dose - 72% of the population and 1,925,084 - 61% - had received both doses.

On 14 June, the Welsh government announced all adults in Wales had been offered a Covid jab, six weeks ahead of schedule.