A COUNCIL boss has given a stark warning about a rise in Covid cases circulating among care homes and schools – which is probably higher than reported and expected to increase.

Nicola Stubbins, corporate director of communities for Denbighshire council and chair of the county’s Incident Management Team (IMT), spoke to the authority’s cabinet committee last Tuesday.

She said at the time that Wales was around three weeks behind what was happening in England but as of last Monday, the seven-day infection rate per 100,000 of the population in Denbighshire were almost double the Welsh average of 53.1, at 104.5 per 100,000.

The highest rate in North Wales is in neighbouring Flintshire which has seen a seven-day rate of 142.9 infections per 100,000 of the population, while only Anglesey at 52.8 per 100,000 is marginally below the Welsh average.

However Ms Stubbins said there was a “data lag” so the actual figures presented were “expected to be under the present position”.

She said the percentage of infections was in young people “who have not been vaccinated” but officials couldn’t be certain the vaccination programme was breaking the link between “infection, hospitalisation and death”.

She added: “There are increases of positive cases within care homes and and in schools – and we expect that to continue.”