Counties see increase in positive Covid-19 cases
CARMARTHENSHIRE and other parts of West Wales have seen a large fluctuation in the incidence of positive Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began in 2020.
The latest infection rate for Carmarthenshire as a whole, based on the number of confirmed cases over a seven-day period, is 32.8.
To put that into context, it was as high as 742 in the run-up to Christmas 2020, but it has risen again in previous weeks, having been 5.8 at the end of May.
There were 62 new confirmed cases across the county in the week up to June 26, compared to just 11 in the week up to May 23.
In neighbouring Ceredigion, the rate is currently 35.8, with 26 new cases confirmed in the week up to June 26. That’s compared to a rate of 4.1 and just three new cases in the week up to May 23.
Pembrokeshire had an identical rate at the end of May, and also saw four new cases in the same seven-day period. But the county’s rate has now risen to 49.3, with 62 new cases confirmed in the latest seven-day period.
It is clear, therefore, that case numbers are increasing in West Wales, as they are across the country, with the Delta variant now considered to be the dominant strain.
However, Hywel Dda University Health Board has confirmed that the number of people being hospitalised in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire is “very low”, something that it puts down to the effectiveness of the local Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
A spokeswoman for the health board said: “The vaccine programme is currently proving very effective in terms of preventing serious illness and death from Covid-19. This was the main ambition for the programme and why the JCVI prioritisation framework was as it was, starting with the most vulnerable in our population.
“The roll-out of the programme across Hywel Dda has been very successful and our efforts continue to proactively engage with hard-toreach communities or those who are vaccine hesitant.
“As the number of confirmed cases in our hospitals is very low, we cannot state the exact figure for patient identifiable reasons.
“While we are seeing an increase in community cases, the low numbers requiring hospitalisation show that the vaccine is so far proving to be effective.
“If community incidence continues to increase, we are planning for a scenario that would see hospitalisations increase again, although we hope this will continue to be mitigated by the programme of vaccination.”
According to the latest figures from Public Health Wales (based on the week up to June 20), there were more than 1,400 patients in hospitals across the Hywel Dda region, but only ten of those were confirmed to have coronavirus.
In terms of vaccinations, more than half the population of Carmarthenshire has had two doses of a coronavirus jab, and more than two-thirds has had a first dose. In Ceredigion, 50% of people are now fully vaccinated, while 70% have had a first jab. In Pembrokeshire, 52.4% have received both doses, and 71.6% have had a first dose.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus, different parts of West Wales have had spikes in cases and local outbreaks. In September 2020, Llanelli became the first town in Wales to be placed into a sub-county lockdown after a huge rise in cases. A more localised outbreak was also identified after an event at a village sports club in Drefach earlier that month, and, more recently, measures were put in place in Pontyberem after a number of cases were confirmed in the local area.
Across the three counties, walk-in vaccination clinics are opening up in an effort to ramp up the number of people who are protected against coronavirus.
The clinics are in place at the following locations:
Carmarthen drive-through (United Counties Showground) – open seven days a week, 10am-7pm
Llanelli (Ffwrnes Theatre) – open seven days a week, 10am-8pm
Aberystwyth (Thomas Parry Library) – open seven days a week, 10am-8pm
Haverfordwest (Pembrokeshire
Archives) – open seven days a week, 10am-8pm
■ Cardigan (Teifi Leisure Centre) – open seven days a week, 10am-8pm
■ Carmarthen walk-in (Halliwell Conference Centre, UWTSD) – open seven days a week, 10am-8pm
■ Tenby (Tenby Leisure Centre) – open Friday to Sunday, 10am - 8pm
Alison Evans, lead clinical nurse for
Hywel Dda’s mass vaccination centres, said: “Following the confirmation by the First Minister that Wales is at the start of a third wave, we knew we needed to make it as easy as possible for people to access the vaccine.
“I am incredibly proud of all our vaccination teams across our centres who are working incredibly hard to make sure we are able to provide the vaccine people need, when they need it. If you haven’t had your first vaccine it is never too late; call into your local centre and we will arrange this for you. We have plans in place to ensure we can vaccinate most people there and then but if for any reason we can’t, please be assured we will get a vaccine sorted for you as soon as possible.”