Covid in Wales: record infections but hospital figures fall

The last week has also seen 25,611 positive lateral flow tests reported in Wales, a fall on the previous week

One in 13 people is estimated to have Covid in Wales in the latest week, says the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

A record estimate of 230,800 people had Covid in the week ending 2 April.

That equates to 7.59% of the population and is a rise on the previous estimate, which showed 212,000 people infected.

However, Covid hospital figures are falling, while 86% of patients testing positive are primarily being treated for something else.

Since the summer of 2020, the ONS has organised a weekly swab survey involving thousands of households across Wales.

It has become the most important tool to measure the level of infections, after the end of mass testing at the end of March.

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ONS said the percentage of people testing positive increased in the older age groups, while the trend was uncertain in school age children and young adults in the most recent week in Wales.

The age group in Wales with the highest proportion with Covid was estimated to be 38 and 39-year-olds (up to 9.5%) and less than 6% in those over 80.

The estimate for Wales is higher than those in Northern Ireland and Scotland and five out of nine English regions.

Broken down within Wales, the survey - based over a longer time period - estimates that the positivity is lowest in mid and west Wales (6.9%) and highest in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg area (8.1%) - or one in 12 people.

Infections are also estimated to involve one in 13 people in England and Scotland and one in 16 in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, hospitalisations show an average 826 patients with confirmed Covid - an 11% drop on a week ago.

But nearly 86% of patients with Covid in acute beds in the past week are being treated for something else - not primarily for Covid.

The number of patients being primarily treated for Covid was 93 on Thursday, according to Digital Health and Care Wales, and has been below 100 for the last five days.

Covid numbers in critical care have remained stable over the last week - with 17 patients in intensive care or on invasive ventilation, the same as the week before.

Covid admissions are at a daily average of 42 patients - a rise on what we were seeing a month ago but will include the high proportions of "incidental" Covid cases in hospital we have been seeing.

Record numbers of 'long Covid' effects

We can also in separate figures that more people are reporting symptoms of "long Covid" - with 83,000 estimated in Wales to be experiencing the long-term effects of having the virus.

This is the highest number reported in the year since figures were collated by ONS.

In the latest figures, 36,000 people in Wales were still reporting symptoms more than a year since having Covid.

Fatigue continued to be the most common symptom (51% of those self-reporting long Covid), followed by shortness of breath (34%).