GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTY IN YOUR INBOX SIGN UP Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Health chiefs have warned that the biggest coronavirus hotspot outside London is right on the Gloucestershire border.

Those living along the Forest of Dean and Welsh border have been warned that they are about to face a crisis similar the one unfolding in Italy if the figures continue to rise.

According to the statistics the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board has the highest concentration of confirmed cases per 100,000 people outside the capital.

As of today the health board has 358 confirmed coronavirus cases, more than half of the 628 infections in Wales.

Many of those living in Sedbury, Beachley and the Wye Valley villages use Welsh GP surgeries which come under the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board.

(Image: Eloisa Wildsmith Photography)

And the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport and Neville Hall Hospital in Abergavenny, which cover this area, both fear they are about to be overwhelmed by the spike.

Medics have warned they could run out of intensive care beds and ventilators as the number of patients admitted with Covid-19 continues to rise.

Sarah Aitken, public health director of the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, has issued a stark warning to those living in the region to be on their guard or face Italian style death tolls.

She said: “In Gwent, we are seeing a rapidly rising increase in the number of cases of coronavirus in all our communities, and a daily increase in the number of people being admitted to hospital and the number of people dying from the virus.

“The pattern we are seeing in Gwent is the same pattern seen in Italy where their healthcare system is now overwhelmed.

Dr Frank Atherton, Wales’ Chief Medical Officer, says the reasons behind the spike are complex and says being on the English border and increased testing could explain the spike.

He added: “We can’t be under any illusion that this is going to be a very challenging time for our NHS.

“We are asking staff to work in unprecedented times. The whole strategy in the UK is to delay the epidemic curve so we have time to prepare.

“But it’s going to be tight, it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to be hard for staff - there’s no doubt about that.”

The area covers Monmouthshire, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen and South Powys and some say it is just a statistical blip and other areas will follow shortly.

Wales' health minister Vaughan Gethin told a press conference in Cardiff: "There is a particular cluster within the Gwent area but we don't think that is going to be the way that disease transmission works through the whole outbreak - that Gwent will be an outlier.

"We are pretty confident, unfortunately, that the community transmission that is taking place will be seen in other parts of the UK and other parts of Wales.

"My bigger concern is actually that we potentially have a larger impact in Wales because Wales compared to other UK nations is typically older, sicker with more health challenges, and poorer.

"On every other public health indicator that means there's more challenge. My concern is that people heed the advice because otherwise we could potentially see a larger impact in Wales than other parts of the UK, so it really is important people follow the advice."