OVER 70 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Flintshire and Wrexham, the latest data shows.

Public Health Wales figures released on Saturday (February 6) show that 75 new cases were confirmed in the two counties between February 4 and 5. 

Of these, 41 were in Flintshire and 34 in Wrexham. Wrexham's seven-day infection rate now stands at 272.1 and remains the highest in Wales. However, it has fallen significantly in recent weeks - having been up at nearly 1,000 in early January. 

Flintshire's seven-day infection rate now stands at 233.8 - the second highest in Wales. But Flintshire's rate of infection, too, is falling. 

Across north Wales as a whole, 152 new cases have been confirmed - with infection rates in the west of the region growing, in contrast to what's happening in north east Wales. 

Sadly, a further 49 people who had tested positive for coronavirus died in Wales between February 4 and 5 - taking the country's confirmed total of suspected coronavirus-related deaths to 4,961. 

Over half a million people in Wales have now received at least one dosage of the coronavirus vaccine. 

Dr Chris Williams, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Although the data currently shows that on an all-Wales level the numbers of cases are reducing and that the incidence is now below 130 cases per 100,000 population, the rates in some areas – particularly in North Wales – are still at more than double that.

“The pressure on our hospitals is still severe, so it is extremely important that everyone sticks to the rules and stays at home as much as possible.” 

“We continue to work to identify and investigate cases of variant coronavirus in Wales. To date, 13 cases of the South Africa variant have been identified in Wales. Multi-agency investigations continue into two separate cases that do not have clear links to international travel. There are no cases of the variants associated with Brazil.”