THERE have been more than 1,700 new cases of coronavirus and 63 deaths recorded in Wales in the last 24 hours.

Nationally, there have been 1,718 new coronavirus cases bringing the total since the pandemic began to 163,234 positive tests out of a total of 1,335,755 individuals tested.

In North Wales, there have been 394 new cases recorded since the last Public Health Wales update.

These can be broken down to 3 in Anglesey, 42 in Conwy, 47 in Denbighshire, 119 in Flintshire, 13 in Gwynedd and 170 in Wrexham.

Sadly, a further 63 people died across Wales from suspected Covid-19, bringing the total of people to suffer suspected coronavirus deaths to 3,801.

Dr Eleri Davies, Incident Director for the Novel Coronavirus) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “The number of positive Coronavirus cases remains extremely high in Wales and is cause for serious concern.

“Once again we are sadly reporting a high number of deaths - it should be noted that not all of these deaths occurred during the same 24 hour period but it does show the severity of the situation and acts as a reminder to everyone how important it is to stick to the rules to prevent transmission of the virus.

“With vaccinations for COVID-19 progressing, we welcome the start of the roll-out of the second Coronavirus vaccine (from Oxford/AstraZeneca) in Wales, with the first patients receiving their vaccine on Monday.

“The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has issued a short statement outlining the case for optimising the vaccine programme within the UK to achieve maximum short term impact.

“Vaccinating the adult population of Wales, to protect people from severe disease, is a significant task, and the vaccine will take time to reach everyone. The epidemiology of COVID-19 throughout the UK in late 2020 showed a clear need for rapid, high levels of vaccine uptake among vulnerable persons.

“The JCVI supports a two-dose vaccine schedule for the Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines. Given the data available, and evidence from the use of many other vaccines, Public Health Wales fully supports the JCVI advice to increase a maximum interval between the first and second doses of 12 weeks for both vaccines.

“It can be assumed that protection from the first dose will wane in the medium term, and the second dose will still be required to provide more durable protection. The JCVI advises initially prioritising delivery of the first vaccine dose as this is highly likely to have a greater public health impact in the short term and reduce the number of preventable deaths from COVID-19.

“Members of the public should not to phone your GP, pharmacy or hospital asking when they will get a vaccine. When someone is in one of the groups eligible for the vaccine, they will be invited to attend a dedicated clinic which will have been set up to ensure patient safety and that of the healthcare professionals.

“The effects of the vaccines may not be seen nationally for some time, and with Wales at alert level four we must continue to follow the advice on keeping Wales safe. Stay at home, meet only the people you live with, maintain social distancing, wash your hands regularly, and work from home if you can.

“As indicated by the Welsh Government, the new restrictions were brought forward due to the identification of a new more transmissible variant of Coronavirus. Public Health Wales has been working with UK partners to investigate and respond to this variant.

“It is normal for viruses to undergo mutations, and we expect this to happen. Although the variant is easier to transmit, there is currently no evidence that it is more severe.

“We are reminding people that all current guidance relating to Coronavirus continues to apply to the new variant, including advice relating to symptoms, social distancing, self-isolation, and vaccination.

“The new variant shows up as positive in Public Health Wales’ existing Coronavirus tests, and people must continue to seek a test in the usual way if they develop Coronavirus symptoms.