MORE than half of newly confirmed cases of coronavirus have been reported across north Wales, health chiefs have said.

Public Health Wales confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that 67 new cases of the virus have been reported across Wales - 36 of which were in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area.

The total number of cases across north Wales has now reached 2,823‬.

Public Health Wales also confirmed that the total number of deaths reported across Wales now sadly stands at 1,354 – which includes seven new deaths across the country.

Of those, 273 have been reported in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area – one of the highest local figures on record.

In terms of the new North Wales cases confirmed on June 2, there were 13 in Conwy, 10 in Denbighshire, six in Gwynedd, three in Wrexham, three on Anglesey and one in Flintshire.

The figures follow the start of Wales' Test, Trace and Protect strategy.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: "Contact tracing is the process of identifying people who have come in contact with an individual with Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in order to prevent the risk of others spreading the infection in our communities."

From June 1, anyone who has a positive coronavirus test will be contacted by a team of contact tracers, and asked for details of everyone they have had close contact with while they have had symptoms.

Dr Shanker added: “It will be important for everyone to keep a note of their own activity so they can easily remember where they were on a given day, and who they were in contact with, in the event of being contacted as part of tracing. If you are asked to self-isolate, you should also comply with this request to prevent further spread of the virus

“Tracers are trained staff and personal information that you provide will handled in line with data protection regulations and will not be shared widely.

“Over the last few weeks, Public Health Wales has been setting up the methods and guidance for how contact tracing will operate. We will continue to work closely to support local health boards and local authorities in delivering contact tracing."

June also saw the start of revised lockdown arrangements announced by the Welsh Government last week which will permit people from two different households in the same local area can meet up outdoors, provided they continue to maintain social distancing and strict hand hygiene.

Dr Shankar continued: “The announcement adds that, as a general rule, people should not travel more than five miles from home. This will help to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading as people begin to travel more.

“Revised lockdown arrangements also apply to people in Wales who have been told to ‘shield’ from the virus. From today they will be able to go outside and meet people from another household, provided they keep a two-metre distance.

“Future relaxation of lockdown measures will also be dependent on everyone following advice set out in the ‘Test, Trace, Protect’ strategy, including self-isolating when required."