Ceredigion council has warned more than 600 people in the county will die from coronavirus if we do not stay at home.

In a stark message this afternoon as the death toll from Covid-19 in Wales rose to 219, officials at Ceredigion council warned that now is the time to act to save lives by staying at home.

In a statement, the council said: “The full effect of coronavirus has not yet reached Ceredigion.

“Now is the time to act to save lives by staying at home.

“Unless we act now, more than 600 people will die of the coronavirus in Ceredigion.

“You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

“The virus does not discriminate.”

Public Health Wales confirmed this afternoon that 291 new cases of the virus have been identified in Wales with 291 new overnight.

Statistics for each county have now been made available and Ceredigion currently has 24 cases of coronavirus, with two new cases confirmed overnight.

There are 29 cases in Gwynedd with two new confirmed today, 58 cases in Powys, 59 in Pembrokeshire and 161 in Carmarthenshire.

19 people across Wales have died overnight from the virus, taking the total to 212.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Covid-19 outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “291 new cases have tested positive for Covid-19 in Wales, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 3,790, although the true number of cases is likely to be higher.

“19 further deaths have been reported to us of people who had tested positive for Covid-19, taking the number of deaths in Wales to 212.

“We offer our condolences to families and friends affected, and we ask those reporting on the situation to respect patient confidentiality.

“Public Health Wales has conducted more than 15,000 tests for Covid-19 on more than 13,000 individuals since the start of this outbreak.

Ceredigion council is asking people in the county not to make any unnecessary journeys; keep away from populated areas when going for your exercise and leave the house as infrequently as possible.

A spokesperson for Ceredigion added: “Everything we’re doing as a council is to reduce the number of people who are infected and die from coronavirus.

“Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives. Stay apart and play your part.”