Covid-19: Only one hospital admission in Wales in a day

Only 20 patients were being treated primarily for Covid in acute beds across Wales

For the second time in the pandemic, only one patient has been admitted to hospital in Wales with Covid in a day.

The single admission, on Monday, was in Cardiff and Vale, according to latest figures from Digital Health and Care Wales.

This has only happened once before during the pandemic, on a day in late June last year.

Meanwhile, deaths involving Covid-19 were at their lowest for nine months.

According to the latest statistics, numbers of Covid hospital admissions - and also those in critical care - are at their lowest since mid-July 2.

The numbers of patients testing positive for Covid in hospital beds in Wales has averaged 181 a day over the past week - a 24% drop on the previous week and 68% down on a month ago.

But more than 84% of patients with Covid in acute beds are in hospital to be treated for other conditions.

When we look at so-called "incidental" Covid in hospitals set against "active" Covid patients, only 20 patients were being treated primarily for Covid in acute beds on Monday across Wales.

This has been a feature of the Omicron wave since December, with infections high in the community but generally mild and most of those hospital patients who test positive for Covid are being treated for something else.

But even these figures have been falling back since mid-April.

Bed occupancy generally in acute beds has dropped back from recent record levels - with a 91.9% bed occupancy rate so far this week. It reached 92.7% in the last two weeks.

This shows hospitals in Wales are still very busy.

Meanwhile, latest mortality figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 16 deaths involving Covid in Wales in the latest week.

This total for the week ending 20 May was the lowest for nine months.

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Deaths involving Covid were 2.5% of all deaths registered in Wales in that week.

There were six deaths in the Betsi Cadwaladr health board area.

There were no deaths involving Covid in eight counties: Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Ceredigion, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport, Pembrokeshire and Vale of Glamorgan.

Deaths from all causes were running at 14% above the normal five-year average.

The total of deaths involving Covid in the pandemic has reached 10,328 in Wales.