OVER 40 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Flintshire and Wrexham in the last day, the latest data shows.

Public Health Wales figures released on Thursday (December 3) show that of the 42 new cases in the two counties, 25 were in Wrexham and 17 in Flintshire.

Cases per 100,000 people over the last week in Wrexham and Flintshire remain by far the highest in North Wales, standing at 267 and 186 respectively.

Across North Wales as a whole, 66 new cases were confirmed - the second lowest out of any Health Board area in Wales.

Across Wales as a whole, 24 people who had tested positive for coronavirus in the last 28 days have sadly died in the last 24 hours - one death of which was in North Wales.

Over 14,000 tests for coronavirus were undertaken in Wales in the last day, with over 1.5million tests having now been made since the start of the pandemic.

Dr Robin Howe, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has now authorised the first Covid-19 vaccine as safe and effective on the basis of detailed independent expert review of evidence from large scale clinical trials.

“The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has become the first to receive MHRA clearance in the UK and 40 million doses of the vaccine will shortly be available for delivery across the UK, with Wales getting its allocation based on population.

“This is welcome news, however the effects of the vaccine may not be seen nationally for many months and it is extremely important that everyone continues to follow the advice on keeping Wales safe; keep contacts with other people to a minimum, keep a 2 metre distance from others, wash hands regularly, wear a face covering where required, and self-isolating when asked to do so."

Dr Howe added: "“It is now clear from the data that the Coronavirus cases are rising in most parts of Wales, reversing the downward trend we had observed as a result of the fire break.

“The Welsh Government have introduced restrictions for the hospitality sector from Friday 4 December ahead of Christmas period, in order to reduce the opportunities for the virus to spread in our communities and to keep people safe.