Two more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Powys, taking the total number since the outbreak began to 272.

The latest figures from Public Health Wales also show that the number of people confirmed to have died with the virus remains at 13 – although new data from the Office for National Statistics, published this morning, puts that figure closer to 84.

Across Wales, another 141 cases have been confirmed today, taking the total since the beginning of the pandemic to 13,556.

Meanwhile, eight more people have died, meaning that 1,282 have last their lives in Wales with confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Social distancing rules remain in effect. Public Health Wales fully supports Welsh Government’s revised stay-at-home regulations.

"The message has not changed – anyone can get Novel Coronavirus, anyone can spread it. Stay home, protect the NHS, and save lives."

Dr Shankar added: “Public Health Wales, working with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, is recruiting 500 participants as part of the Oxford Vaccine Group Covid-19 vaccine trial.

“This is an important study to test the effectiveness of one of the main candidate vaccines for Covid-19 in Wales. If successful, vaccination will provide a route out of this pandemic. We will be recruiting participants for screening and administration of vaccine, and monitoring outcomes and safety.

“Public Health Wales has also been working in partnership with Ortho Clinical Diagnostics on new Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) antibody tests. In South Wales production is now well underway on the tests, which can detect antibodies that can be used to identify an immune response and may be critical in back-to-work strategies.

“Antibody testing is an important part of our strategy to counter the spread of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and to help us understand who has had the disease. Knowing that the production of the test will be local to us in Wales was of great importance to us as we determined which suppliers to rely on."