Fourteen deaths have been recorded in Wales today from the coronavirus, according to official statistics.

The daily figures, released this lunchtime by Public Health Wales, show that Ceredigion has recorded five new cases today.

Powys has recorded 18 new cases with warnings from council chiefs earlier this week that cases in the county were on the increase.

Another area that has seen an increase in cases is Porthmadog, which has led council leaders to call on people in the area to adhere to lockdown rules.

Gwynedd has today recorded 13 new cases.

Carmarthenshire has recorded 16 new cases and Pembrokeshire, five.

14 deaths have been recorded in Wales today taking the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 5,189.

As the Welsh Government prepares to give an update on the current lockdown rules, Wales’ overall rate of infection is currently 84 cases per 100,000 population.

The regional breakdown however varies.

Over the seven-day period 7-13 February, Ceredigion’s rate of infection was just 26.1 cases per 100,000 population, the lowest in Wales.

Powys however had a rate of infection of 111.8 cases after recording 148 positive Covid results over that same time period.

Gwynedd had a rate of infection of 87.5 over that same time period which Carmarthenshire had a rate of 67.8 and Pembrokeshire, 48.5.

Giving the daily statement, Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 85 cases per 100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are still significantly higher, and there have been small increases in others.

“It is encouraging to see that the numbers of people being treated for coronavirus in our hospitals is reducing, but there are still a large number of people who are extremely ill, which means that the pressure on services is still very high.

“All of Wales remains in lockdown. We recognise that complying with the restrictions can be challenging, but coronavirus is still active in our communities and can cause severe illness and death.

"The reduction in the number of cases does not mean that people can meet people from other households (apart from one person for socially distanced exercise), as this can cause the virus to spread.

“As a nation, we have made so many sacrifices throughout the course of the pandemic that we really don’t want to squander the gains that have been made in recent weeks.

“We continue to work to identify and investigate cases of variant coronavirus in Wales. To date, 17 cases of the South Africa variant have been identified in Wales. Multi-agency investigations continue into three separate cases that do not have clear links to international travel. There are no cases of the variants associated with Brazil.”

For more information on the coronavirus in your area, go to www.tinyurl.com/wgthkgs