The First Minister has urged people to think carefully about whether to meet vulnerable relatives over Christmas this year as the latest Covid-19 figures are released.

A total of 1,972 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded across Wales today along with four deaths.

102 cases have been recorded in Gwynedd, with Carmarthenshire recording 132 and Pembrokeshire, 127.

Powys has recorded 63 cases today with 34 in Ceredigion.

The national rate of infection currently stands at 472.1 cases per 100,000 population.

The rate is however much higher in Gwynedd, currently standing at 851.0 with Ceredigion having the lowest rate in Wales, currently standing at 238.0.

Four deaths have been recorded in Wales today, with one in the Betsi Cadwaldr region of north Wales, taking its total to 1,098 since the start of the pandemic.

No new deaths have been recorded in the Hywel Dda Health Board region of Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, leaving the total at 611.

No new deaths have been recorded in Powys either, with its total remaining at 83.

With face mask rules being reintroduced in England and secondary school pupils having to wear masks from today amid fears of the Omicron variant, First Minister Mark Drakeford has warned people to think about who they meet this Christmas.

Speaking to BBC Wales, he said: "Christmas should be different this year. Christmas should be better this year.

"That doesn’t mean that people should neglect those simple things that we can do in our own lives, that still help to protect ourselves and others.

"Those simple precautions - think about vulnerable people, if members of your family are particularly likely to suffer from coronavirus - think carefully about whether you visit them or involve them in your plans.

"Take a lateral flow test if you’re going to visit somewhere where you might be at risk or others are at risk wear masks in crowded public places."

Wales’ top doctor, Dr Frank Atherton said it is a "matter of buying time" with the new variant, saying it was a case of when not if the variant will be identified.

"Our best line of defence against this still is vaccines and social distancing, those things that we know keep us safe because they can reduce the transmission of this new variant in the community whilst we understand the implications of it."

"My expectation is that this will probably take off, we will see cases in Wales - we haven’t seen any yet but I do expect us to see cases, they will probably increase.

"And my anxiety is also about January and February next year, because it does take time for these things to take off."

"The Omicron variant does give us further cause for concern and the reason for that is that there’s so much that’s unknown.

"We don’t know whether it will lead to more harm than the Delta variety and if it does then hospital rates could go up. So we just need to be cautious for the moment, not to throw caution to the wind."