986 new coronavirus cases recorded in borough – why is the figure so high?

The latest headline figure released by Public Health Wales (PHW) shows 986 new coronavirus cases recorded in Caerphilly County Borough.

Each day, PHW releases updates on the coronavirus situation in Wales.

Caerphilly County Borough has been one of the hardest hit areas in the country, and became the first area to be placed under a local lockdown back in September.

In recent weeks, following the end of the firebreak lockdown, the number of new cases has been consistently rising across Wales.

In recent days and weeks, it has not been uncommon to see the daily number of new cases in Caerphilly County Borough flutter close to the 100 mark.

But 986 is astronomically high.

However, it’s not quite as it seems.

PHW’s headline figure for Thursday, December 17 shows how many cases PHW became aware of on the day before – Wednesday, December 16.

But these aren’t necessarily cases recorded on that particular day – the daily figure can often include cases that were recorded several days beforehand.

This has been the case throughout the pandemic.

However, PHW has today published its figures with a disclaimer, explaining that the latest figures include a backlog of 11,000 coronavirus cases which had not been reported until now.

PHW said the backlog is made up of cases recorded between December 9 and December 15.

This has affected today’s coronavirus figures for the whole of Wales.

In a statement, PHW said the delay is due to “essential maintenance” for the NHS Wales Informatics Service – which oversees technology used by the NHS in Wales.

The statement read: “PHW announced on Friday [December 11] that the maintenance would have an impact on its reporting.

“The issue has not affected individuals receiving their results and the contact tracing process being commenced.

“Members of the public can be reassured that anyone who tests positive will be contacted by their local authority’s Test, Trace, Protect team in the usual way.

“There have been no errors in the PHW reporting.”

But despite the backlog of cases skewing the latest figures, there has still been a clear increase in the number of new cases in Wales, and Caerphilly County Borough in particular, in recent weeks.

Dr Robin Howe, of PHW, said: “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 21 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 one area [Merthyr Tydfil County Borough].

Caerphilly Observer has been publishing daily coronavirus figures on our website. This is updated daily to reflect the latest statistics released by Public Health Wales and can be viewed at obv.sr/cov19stats