ALMOST 200 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across our region by Public Health Wales (PHW) today.

There have now been 15,555 lab-confirmed cases of the virus from the combined counties that make up the North Wales region since the outbreak of the pandemic - after more incidents were confirmed in the latest figures released today.

Public Health Wales confirmed that the 192 of today’s 3,065 newly confirmed Welsh cases were from the northern region.

They can be broken down as such:

• Anglesey – Nine (12.8 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Conwy – Nine (7.7 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Denbighshire – 16 (16.7 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Flintshire – 60 (38.4 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Gwynedd – 12 (9.6 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Wrexham – 86 (63.3 per 100,000 population as of today)

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board – the largest health board in Wales – has reported 570 people have sadly died to date 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 726 for the health board area.

BCUHB stats:

• Total confirmed cases as of December 19 – 15,555

• New cases from today (December 19) – 192

• Rate of new cases per 100,000 last week (December 7 to 13) – Anglesey (37.1), Conwy (76.8), Denbighshire (164.1), Flintshire (234.5), Gwynedd (77.1), Wrexham (360.4)

The national picture:

Across Wales, another 3,065 COVID cases were confirmed in Saturday’s figures, meaning that 120,432 people are now known to have contracted the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

There were 35 newly reported deaths, meaning the number of people to have died with confirmed cases of coronavirus sadly stands at 3,046 in Wales.

This is what Public Health Wales' has to say:

Dr Chris Williams, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “With less than a week to go before Christmas, we are strongly encouraging people to think very carefully about the actions that they are taking at the moment, as they will directly impact on what happens during the festive period.

“The Welsh Government has confirmed that only two households should come together to form an exclusive Christmas bubble during that period.

“We would ask the public to very carefully consider if this is appropriate for them and their households. Particular caution should be applied if there are elderly or vulnerable members of their households who are at greatest risk.

“For those who do plan on forming a Christmas bubble, it is essential that this is planned and agreed with all the households involved. If doing so, we advise the public to now stop mixing with other households.

“This means staying out of other people’s homes, limiting the times and the numbers of people that you meet, maintaining social distancing and hand hygiene, working from home if you can, and self-isolating if you show symptoms of coronavirus or are asked to do so by contact tracers.

“We understand that people will want to do their Christmas shopping at this time of year. We would suggest to try to visit shops during off-peak times, to always maintain social distancing and to wear a face covering if you can.

“The number of Coronavirus cases continues to increase, with the seven-day rolling average passing 500 cases per 100,000 in Wales.

“Rates of infection have increased in 20 of the 22 local authorities over the last seven days, with the seven-day rolling average now exceeding 1,000 cases per 100,000 in two areas.

“It is important that everyone continues to follow the advice on keeping Wales safe."