HOSPITALS in Wales are currently caring for more than 1,800 coronavirus-related patients - people suspected of having or confirmed to have the virus, and those recovering from it - the highest number since the pandemic began.

A little over 1,200 have been confirmed to have coronavirus, based on figures for the week ending November 29.

And with 294 of these confirmed cases, Gwent's (Aneurin Bevan University Health Board) hospitals are hardest hit, with that figure equating to almost a quarter (24 per cent) of all inpatients for that week.

Next is Swansea Bay University Health Board, where 262 cases are being treated, equating to 20 per cent of its hospital beds - and 18 per cent of beds in the Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB area are occupied by coronavirus patients.

Against this backdrop, and with the number of cases - and thus case rates - rising, health minister Vaughan Gething said today that the situation in Wales is "very serious".

The NHS, he said, is "under considerable and sustained pressure because of the number of people who need to be admitted to hospital for treatment for coronavirus".

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The rolling weekly case rate in Wales is now above 300 cases per 100,000 population and is around 70 points higher than it was just last Friday.

Eight council areas in Wales now have case rates higher than 400 per 100,000 population, and this is four times more than last Friday.

"We are seeing a return, said Mr Gething, to the high rates of more than 500 per 100,000 - currently 529.6 in Blaenau Gwent - and 600 per 100,000. Neath Port Talbot has Wales' highest rolling weekly case rate, to December 4, of 621.7.

Case rates are rising in 19 of Wales' 22 council areas, and the figures together "show just how fast coronavirus is spreading," he said.

Vaughan Gething said Wales is the only part of the UK where infection rates did not appear to be falling in the last week of November, according to an infection survey by the Office for National Statistics.

He said the situation reflected the tighter measures elsewhere in the UK at the time and the Welsh Government had strengthened coronavirus restrictions in response to the situation last Friday - banning pubs from selling alcohol and insisting they close at 6pm being the headline measure - to try to slow the spread of the virus and protect people’s health.

“But, just like the firebreak [lockdown] period, we will not see the impact immediately. It will take a couple of weeks”, said Mr Gething.

He also warned that if there is not a reduction in coronavirus admissions to hospitals in Wales in the next few weeks, "we will need to consider what action we can and may need to take, to support the NHS as we move into the New Year".