BETWEEN two and three per cent of people in Wales have had coronavirus and developed antibodies, a small study suggests.

Analysis of 1,006 adult samples from the Welsh Blood Service found the likely number of people with antibodies is 2.6 per cent.

Figures from Public Health England indicate that between 13 per cent and 17.4 per cent of people in London have antibodies for Covid-19.

A summary of advice from the Welsh Government's tactical advisory cell (TAC) said further sampling was needed in Wales.

The document was published ahead of changes to the country's lockdown measures, which come into effect on Monday.

From then, people from two households will be able to meet outdoors as long as they do not travel more than five miles and observe social distancing.

"There is some data to show that around two to three per cent of people living in Wales have had coronavirus and developed antibodies," the TAC document said.

"This is based on a small sample and we need more people to offer samples through the Welsh Blood Service and wider NHS in Wales in order to get a better picture.

"There is evidence to show that as many as 35 per cent of people who get Covid-19 don't notice any symptoms at all.

"They will still be infectious, and this means that hand washing and social distancing will continue to be very important to break chains of infection."

It said being outdoors in the sunshine carried a "very low risk" of becoming infected, as long as people stay two metres apart.

Evidence shows that the virus lives for only a few minutes in direct sunlight, though it can survive for many hours on surfaces indoors.

The TAC said children seem to have coronavirus "as much" as adults and can still be infectious, but generally suffer fewer symptoms.

Addressing the issue of indoor and outdoor contact with people, it warned: "Significant changes should not be made to social distancing measures unless a robust contact tracing system is in place."

It said "strong caution" should be applied to the joining of small households, called "bubbling", particularly with the release of other lockdown measures.

"We would advise against making too many changes at once," the document states.

The group says outdoor contact with other households, while maintaining a two metre distance, would have "no more than a very small impact on overall transmission rates".

Data suggests that around 70 per cent of people in Wales are complying with social distancing measures.

Of the 4,312 occupied beds in NHS Wales, 8 per cent are confirmed Covid-19 patients and a further 6 per cent are suspected cases.

There are 145 patients in ICU beds in Wales, of which 32 per cent are confirmed Covid-19, nine per cent are suspected cases and 59 per cent are non-Covid cases.

On Saturday, Public Health Wales said a further 14 people had died after testing positive for coronavirus, taking the total number of deaths in Wales to 1,331.

Another 86 people have tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 13,913.

Dr Chris Williams, incident director for the novel coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said it welcomed the changes to lockdown from Monday.

"The announcement adds that, as a general rule, people should not travel more than five miles from home," Dr Williams said.

"This will help to reduce the risk of coronavirus spreading as people begin to travel more.

"Over the weekend, current social distancing rules remain in effect - stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives."

He said future relaxation of lockdown measures would also be dependent on people following advice set out in the 'Test, Trace, Protect' programme, including self-isolating when required.