Powys Covid rates dropping

By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter

The number of people testing positive for Covid-19 in Powys is falling, but not as fast as local health chiefs would like.

Covid-19 rates have been falling steadily during the last couple of weeks as the Wales lockdown, which has been in place since December 20, starts to work in bringing the rate of infection down.

Data shows that the seven-day positive rate has fallen to 157.1 per 100,000 for today. Earlier in the month, on January 10, the rate had reached 241.6 per 100,000 and for several days the rate had been consistently above 220 per 100,000.

But Powys Teaching Health Board Chief Executive, Carol Shillabeer, said they are not falling “as quickly as we would have hoped, we all recognise the issues with the new variants”.

She said at this morning's latest PTHB meeting: “Nonetheless it’s important to recognise the efforts that are being made in terms of the restrictions on people’s lives, to reducing the case rate here in Powys.”

In recent days, reports of the grim reality of dealing with patients suffering from Covid-19 in hospital Intensive Care Units have been shown by news broadcasters.

Mrs Shillabeer explained that hospitals dealing with patients from Powys had been under the the same intensive pressure.

Mrs Shillabeer, said: “We know services have been under a huge amount of pressure. I do want to recognise that this has been affecting our colleagues across the border in the English (NHS) Trusts and in South Wales that provide care for Powys people.”

She added that while the position in recent weeks is “stabilising” for the time being, health services in Powys, as in the rest of Wales and the UK, will be focussing on emergency care.

According to the Officer of National Statistics (ONS) figures there have been 164 Powys deaths (up to January 16) attributed either wholly or partly to Covid-19.