Penarth sees highest rise in cases in the Cardiff and Vale

In the seven days up to February 5 Penarth recorded 36 new cases – up from 12 on the previous week and by far the highest number in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

If not for 42 cases in Holywell and Bagillt in the north of the country, Penarth would have recorded the highest number of Covid cases in Wales for that week.

It came as Vale police officers pleaded with people not to travel to the seafront for the third week in succession.

But Cardiff and Vale's track and trace service has not attributed the rise to people visiting the area.

A spokesman for the Cardiff and Vale Test, Trace, Protect service said: "We are continuing to see cases and incidents in care homes and other closed settings across the Vale. As the number of cases of COVID-19 in the community declines, individual incidents can have a significant impact on case rates. As the vaccination programme continues in the Vale, we expect to see the number of such incidents fall.”

During that week Penarth recorded 36 new cases at a rolling weekly case rate of 338.3. The average rolling weekly case rate in the whole of Wales for that week was 111.4.

Police in Penarth on February 5

It pushed the rolling case rate in the Vale for that week further above Cardiff, with the whole of the Vale recording a case rate of 113, and Cardiff recording 98.7.

Over the weekend police were again at the marina and the esplanade stopping cars from parking amid concerns over rising transmission rates, as they have been for the last three weeks.

Last month the situation got so bad that police closed off the esplanade to vehicles.

Wales is under tier four restrictions, meaning nobody without a legitimate reason should be travelling by vehicle to exercise, and nobody should be socialising face to face with anyone outside of their household bubble.

Elsewhere in the Vale for the seven days up to February 5; Lower Penarth and Sully recorded five new cases, Llandough and Cogan recorded 15, Palmerstown recorded 12, Dinas Powys recorded five, Barry Island recorded seven, Barry East recorded 14, Barry West recorded ten, Gibbonsdown recorded eight, Barry Dyfan recorded four, Peterston and Wenvoe recorded ten, Rhoose recorded 17, Llantwit Major recorded seven, Ogmore and Llandow and Cowbridge recorded less than two new cases respectively.

Overall the picture is still improving in the Vale. In the seven days up to February 7 the Vale recorded 136 new cases – less than 150 the previous week and 219 the week before.

So far this week the Vale has recorded 41 new cases – 20 on Monday, 11 on Tuesday, and ten on Wednesday.