JUST under 90 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed across our region by Public Health Wales (PHW) today.

There have now been 12,814 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 89 of today’s 667 newly confirmed Welsh cases were from the northern region.

They can be broken down as such:

• Anglesey – Zero (0 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Conwy – Zero (0 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Denbighshire – Eight (8.4 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Flintshire – 25 (16.0 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Gwynedd – Six (4.8 per 100,000 population as of today)

• Wrexham – 50 (36.8 per 100,000 population as of today)

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board – the largest health board in Wales – has reported 527 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 654 for the health board area.

BCUHB stats:

• Confirmed cases as of December 1 – 12,814

• New cases from December 1 – 89

• Rate of new cases per 100,000 last week (November 23 to 29) – Anglesey (75.7), Conwy (26.4), Denbighshire (56.4), Flintshire (101.9), Gwynedd (32.9), Wrexham (176.5)

The national picture:

Across Wales, another 667 COVID cases were confirmed in Wednesday’s figures, meaning that 81,009 people are now known to have contracted the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

There were 23 newly reported deaths, meaning the number of people to have died with confirmed cases of coronavirus sadly stands at 2,563 in Wales.

This is what Public Health Wales' has to say:

Dr Giri Shankar, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “It is now clear from the data that coronavirus cases are rising in most parts of Wales, reversing the downward trend we had observed as a result of the fire break.

“The Welsh Government have today introduced restrictions for the hospitality sector from Friday, December 6, ahead of Christmas period, in order to reduce the opportunities for the virus to spread in our communities and to keep people safe.

“Pubs, restaurants, bars and cafes will need to close at 6pm apart from takeaway services, and will not be able to serve alcohol.

“Indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas, bingo halls, soft play centres and bowling alleys must close from the same date, as must indoor visitor attractions such as museums, galleries and heritage sites."

Dr Shankar adds that officials at Public Health Wales "strongly urges" everyone to follow these rules to avoid transmitting coronavirus and to protect everyone in communities, including the most vulnerable.