Covid lockdown restrictions should not be brought back to help NHS Wales deal with winter pressures, a former health boss has said.

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Dr Roland Salmon, former director of communicable diseases for Public Health Wales, said he believed such rules were only "at best marginally" beneficial.

He said efforts should be redoubled to vaccinate those most at risk.

Latest hospital figures show a 20% rise in two weeks of patients with confirmed Covid, while bed occupancy has hit 90%.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan has said further Covid rules before Christmas are "unlikely" at the moment.

The latest figures show Wales' case rate hit a record high - 681.9 on Friday - although higher case rates have still produced relatively fewer hospital cases and deaths.

Blaenau Gwent has the highest case rate in the UK (1,185 cases per 100,000), with the climbing case rates in Wales mostly concentrated in south Wales. Four Welsh local authorities are among the highest, with south-west English counties also featuring prominently.

The Office for National Statistics estimated 70,300 people have Covid-19 in Wales.

This is the highest infection estimate since it started its weekly swab survey in August last year.

That is the equivalent of one in 45 people or 2.31% of the population.

Infections are estimated to be higher in school-age youngsters - and latest case figures also showed 27% of all positive tests were among the 10 to 19 age group.

Public Health Wales reported 11 further deaths - an average of eight deaths a day in the last week - although deaths were eight times higher at this point in the second wave.