Two Ceredigion care homes are on ‘red alert’, according to council chiefs, as Covid cases rise across Wales.

Nationwide, 737 new cases have been recorded today with one new death in Wales, taking the total to 5,580.

Ceredigion has recorded four new cases today, with 21 being recorded in Carmarthenshire and six in Pembrokeshire.

Gwynedd has recorded 20 cases today, with Powys recording 47 cases.

Council chiefs in Ceredigion have today warned that the county is experiencing a third wave of the virus, with younger people hardest hit.

Ceredigion County Council’s chief executive Eifion Evans told members of the Cabinet this morning “the range of people that have been affected are those under 50, very few of those people are over 50 years of age.”

He added that the “cohort affected are mainly those that are up to 30” with a risk that without precautions it could spread to the “older generation”, although currently there is not an increase in the numbers being admitted to hospital.

Mr Evans said that six areas of Ceredigion – including Borth and Bontgoch – were above the threshold of concern set by the World Health Organisation, “as we can see especially in the north of the county the numbers are increasing significantly”.

Council leader Cllr Ellen ap Gwynn said the rate in Ceredigion is 99 cases per 100,000, which includes 72 cases in the last seven days, compared to 24 in the previous week.

“The increase has been significant over a fairly short space of time,” she added, urging people, especially in the north, to be careful and self-isolate and get tested at the sign of any symptoms.

Cllr ap Gwynn also said two care homes in the county were now classed as “red”, including one in Borth, due to increasing cases.

A council spokesman said: “We are expecting the number of cases to increase further of the coming days and this means we are now in the third wave in Ceredigion.

“Our Track and Trace team are able to see that many of the individuals infected have high rates of contact groups. We are urging those who know that they have been in contact with an individual who is infected to self-isolate immediately and to get tested.

“If you are contacted by a Ceredigion County Council Track and Trace officer, be honest about where you have been and the people you’ve met. Our Track and Trace officers will not judge you. This will help stop the spread of the virus and save lives.”

Figures released by the Office of National Statistics show there have been three deaths involving Covid-19 registered in Wales this week, compared with one death the week before.

There were two deaths in Pembrokeshire, one in hospital and one in a care home, and a death at home in Blaenau Gwent.

There had been four deaths across Wales in the previous four weeks.