Coronavirus R-number for Wales climbs above one as deaths rise

The Welsh First Minister used a briefing with journalists this lunchtime to issue a stark warning about the rate of Coronavirus transmission in Wales and to suggest Merthyr Tydfil and Newport were under close watch as cases continued to rise in those areas.

Mark Drakeford said it had been "a sobering week" and that the rate of transmission or R-number in Wales as a whole was over 1.

He said the three Welsh deaths reported yesterday by Public Health Wales after a long spell with no deaths reported in Wales served as a "grave reminder that we are dealing with a serious and often deadly virus". 4 people are currently in intensive care with coronavirus.

He said they were testing over 9500 each day but said they were being hampered by the UK Government's Lighthouse Lab system. Yesterday Health Minister Vaughan Gething said they had taken the decision to switch some testing centres here over to Public Health Wales labs instead of the UK ones.

https://twitter.com/WelshGovernment/status/1306917085436506112?s=20

You can see the full briefing here:

• welsh government
• mark drakeford