Coronavirus exposes inequalities, first minister says

Rhondda Cynon Taf has the highest death rate - and highest proportion of positive cases in Wales

Coronavirus has exposed "the stark nature of inequalities" in the UK, according to the first minister.

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, Mark Drakeford said: "It is stark, and it is depressing, but it's not surprising."

Mr Drakeford said some local authority areas in Wales were being worse affected by the virus than others.

Rhondda Cynon Taf has the highest death rate in Wales, according to latest figures.

Mr Drakeford said some areas have "older populations, populations with underlying health conditions, populations who live near each other because of their local geographies".

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"We have some local authorities in Wales that have all those characteristics and where you would expect, independent of testing variable, there will be a bigger impact of the virus."

Rhondda Cynon Taf has recorded 98.89 deaths per 100,000 compared with 8.22 deaths in Ceredigion and 22.87 in Anglesey.

Merthyr Tydfil has had 98.03 deaths per 100,000 while Cardiff, where the highest number of deaths have been recorded (329) there have been 90.32 deaths per 100,000 people.

From Monday, some restrictions are being eased with people from two households allowed to meet and allowed to travel about five miles from home.Asked on the Sunday Supplement programme why the Welsh Government had decided not to relax the rules on non-contact sport, like tennis, Mr Drakeford said that advice suggested the gap between "where the R number is and where it would begin to get out of control was very narrow" and so the Welsh Government should "take one main measure".

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"We have focussed in Wales on allowing families and friends to get together again in the open air," he said.

"We did that because all of the messages we have had back from people in Wales have been that while we are willing to put up with a huge amount in order to make the great collective effort we've made, the one thing they missed the most is seeing family and friends.

"In my post bag and in the post bag of my colleagues, the number of people who have written in about tennis is pretty small and the number of people who have written in saying I really miss being abele to sit face to face with, and then they name the person who's closest to them, has grown and grown significantly," he added.

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