Covid hospital admissions drop in Wales as rules lifted

First minister Mark Drakeford announced Wales moved to alert level zero on Friday - meaning nightclubs could reopen and restrictions on hospitality and meeting people have been lifted.

A total of 5,935 people were admitted to hospital for any reason in the week ending January 23, Public Health Wales has confirmed.

Of these 376 (six per cent) were known to have tested positive for coronavirus before admission, while a further 142 people (two per cent) tested positive on admission.

This means the number of people who tested positive for Covid on or prior to admission has dropped from 572 the previous week to 518 in the latest update.

The number of patients who tested positive on or before admission to hospital in Wales and Gwent. Source: Public Health Wales.

The number of people who tested positive for Covid on or prior to admission for the week ending January 16 had previously been reported as 569, but Public Health Wales has since clarified the figure as 572.

“Due to ongoing data cleaning to improve data quality and linkage, some previously reported numbers are subject to change,” said a Public Health Wales spokesperson.

Across Wales, 10 patients were admitted to critical care units having tested positive for Covid, while a further three test positive on admission. This came from 1,158 critical care admissions across Wales during the week.

The number of probable and definite hospital onset cases of coronavirus for Wales and Gwent. Source: Public Health Wales.

Of the 16,697 cases recorded across Wales in the week covered by the latest Public Health Wales figures, 220 were either probable or definite hospital onset - people who caught Covid-19 in hospital - cases.

A further 161 cases were determined to have been definite hospital onset cases, and 59 were found to be probable, with a further 65 deemed indeterminate.

The number of probable or definite hospital onset cases rose from 215 across Wales in the previous week.