OVER FIFTY new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across North Wales by health officials on Wednesday.

There have now been almost 33,880 lab-confirmed cases of the virus identified from the combined counties since the outbreak of the pandemic - after more incidents were confirmed by Public Health Wales (PHW) in the latest figures released on March 17.

PHW confirmed that 51 of the latest 145 Welsh cases (35 per cent) came from the northern region.

They can be broken down as such:

• Anglesey – Five (7.1 per 100,000 population)

• Conwy – 10 (8.5 per 100,000 population)

• Denbighshire – Six (6.3 per 100,000 population)

• Flintshire – 10 (6.4 per 100,000 population)

• Gwynedd – Seven (5.6 per 100,000 population)

• Wrexham – 13 (9.6 per 100,000 population)

BCUHB stats:

• Total confirmed COVID-19 cases from North Wales as of March 17 – 33,877

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board – the largest health board in Wales – has reported 914 people have sadly died since the start of the pandemic, according to PHW data.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics, which are considered a stronger indicator of the overall impact of the virus, and which are based on all deaths where COVID is mentioned on the death certificate, stand at 1,307 for the health board area.

The national picture:

Across Wales, another 145 COVID cases were confirmed in the latest figures, meaning that 206,940 people are now known to have contracted the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

There were eight newly reported deaths, meaning the number of people to have died with confirmed cases of coronavirus sadly stands at 5,463 in Wales.

This is what Public Health Wales' has to say:

Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “While the level of infection across Wales has declined in recent weeks, there are still several areas which have substantially higher rates.

“It is vitally important that we don’t squander the substantial gains that have been made, and therefore I would like to send a clear message to everyone that coronavirus hasn’t gone away and there are still a large number of people who have not been vaccinated.

“In order to protect everyone, including the most vulnerable, everyone must stick to the rules.”

Welsh Government restrictions state that you should not go into any other household or mix with other people who you don’t live with.

Dr Howe continued: “If you are contacted by your local Test, Trace, Protect (TTP) team then it is important that you are truthful with them about where you have been and who you have met.

“They are not there to judge, they are there to help prevent ongoing transmission of the virus and to protect the community.

“If you are asked to self-isolate by your local TTP team then please ensure that you do so for the full ten days - this will help break any chains of transmission.

“We need your continued support to control the spread of coronavirus, so please do not send your child to school if they are unwell, even if you are not sure if they have coronavirus.

“Please continue to work from home if at all possible.”