NORTH Wales health board returns small number of new cases compared to other parts of the country, as latest figures show national coronavirus rise continues.

A total of 162 new coronavirus cases have been reported to Public Health Wales in the last 24 hours, according to the latest figures, with data showing a rise in every corner of the country.

Of this number, 18 positive tests came from areas in the North Wales region covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).

These figures are broken down to include nine in Flintshire, three in Denbighshire and two each from Anglesey, Conwy and Wrexham.

Gwynedd was the only county not to return any new cases on Sunday.

Nationally, there have been a total of 19,390 cases since records began.

Just over one full week has passed since the last recorded coronavirus death in Wales - meaning the total number of lives sadly lost to the virus stands at 1,597 across the country.

Of this number, BCUHB - the largest health board in the country - accounts for 420.

Dr Christopher Williams, incident director for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak response at Public Health Wales, said: “Public Health Wales welcomes the new action being taken from Monday 14 September by Welsh Government to prevent further rises in positive coronavirus cases. These include the mandatory wearing of face coverings by people over 11 in public places, like shops, and that only six people from an extended household can meet indoors.

“As children return to schools, I understand that parents will be concerned at reports of positive cases. I would urge you to follow advice from the school or local authority and only withdraw children from school when asked to do so. Social distancing measures that are in place are designed to prevent the spread of the disease beyond the ‘bubbles’ established in schools.

“Again it is important that children maintain regular handwashing throughout the day, and on returning home, and parents’ help with this is vital.

“We are now seeing a steady increase in cases in a number of communities across Wales, and our investigations show that many of these have been transmitted due to a lack of social distancing.

“This has resulted in the spread of the virus to other groups of people.

“We continue to appeal to everyone to please remember that, even if you feel that you would not be badly affected by COVID-19 if you were to test positive, should you pass it on to older or more vulnerable family members, friends or colleagues it could be extremely serious and even fatal.

“Coronavirus has not gone away. It remains the responsibility of everyone to help prevent the spread of this virus - that is by self-isolating when asked to do so, staying two metres away from others, and by washing hands regularly."