THERE were no new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Ceredigion this lunchtime (Saturday), meaning the county has still only had 31 confirmed cases, the lowest number of any area in Wales.

Carmarthenshire has had ten times as many cases as Ceredigion, at 320. Pembrokeshire has had 141 cases confirmed, and Gwynedd has had 119. Powys had nine new cases confirmed today, bringing its total to 118.

Gwynedd had 7 new cases reported today, Carmarthenshire 10 and Pembrokeshire 7.

The second lowest figure is on Anglesey, with 39 cases. The worst affected area is Cardiff, with 1,278 cases.

Public Health Wales releases the daily figures every day at 2pm. But they make clear that the rate of infection is likely to be higher than the number of positive tests that have come back, due to restrictions on who gets offered testing.

There were 292 new cases across Wales reported today (Saturday), making a total of just under 7,000. Over 20,000 people have now been tested in Wales.

Twenty-eight, new deaths suspected to be due to Covid-19 were reported in Wales, bringing the total of deaths to 534.

Dr Chris Williams, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales fully supports the three week extension of lockdown measures, announced on 16 April, which is essential to avoid reversing the gains we have made in slowing the spread of this virus, protecting our NHS, and saving lives.

“Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is still circulating in every part of Wales, and the single most important action we can all take in fighting the virus is to stay at home. We want to thank each and every person across Wales for doing their bit to help slow the spread of the virus.

"While emphasising the importance of staying at home, we also want to reinforce the message from NHS Wales that urgent and emergency care services for physical and mental health are still open and accessible.

“For parents, if your child is unwell and you are concerned you should seek help. If you have urgent dental pain you should still call your dentist. If you have a health complaint that is worrying you and won’t go away you should call your GP practice. If you or a family member are seriously ill or injured you should dial 999 or attend your nearest Emergency Department.

“Public Health Wales is working with our partners in Welsh Government, the wider NHS in Wales, the other UK nations and others to monitor and respond to the spread of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wales.

“This includes working with Welsh Government to ensure we test the right people, at the right time, in the right place, to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

“We are encouraging everyone to download the COVID-19 Symptom Tracker app, which has been supported by Welsh Government. The app allows users to log daily symptoms to help build a clearer picture of how the virus is affecting people. For more information, including how to download the app, visit covid.joinzoe.com.

“Public Health Wales is working to address the negative impact of COVID-19 on the social, mental and physical wellbeing of people in Wales. The new How are you doing? campaign is now live and offering practical advice from phw.nhs.wales/howareyoudoing.

“We know that staying at home can be hard especially when the weather is nice, but members of the public must adhere to social distancing rules about staying at home, and away from others, introduced by the UK and Welsh Government. These rules are available on the Public Health Wales website.

“People no longer need to contact NHS 111 if they think they may have contracted Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). Information about the symptoms to look out for is available on the Public Health Wales website, or members of the public can use the NHS Wales symptom checker.

“Anyone with a suspected coronavirus illness should not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. They should only contact NHS 111 if they feel they cannot cope with their symptoms at home, their condition gets worse, or their symptoms do not get better after seven days.

“Only call 999 if you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, do not call 999 just because you are on hold to 111. We appreciate that 111 lines are busy, but you will get through after a wait."