TORFAEN recorded fewer deaths in June as lockdown measures began to ease than 12 months previous, new figures reveal.

Office for National Statistics figures show 77 deaths were recorded in Torfaen during June, seven fewer than the number recorded in June 2019.

Across the 22 local authorities in Wales however, death counts increased by 15 per cent, climbing from 2,331 to 2,692.

However, during the peak of the pandemic, the Gwent Valleys recorded substantially more deaths than at the same time in previous years, new figures reveal.

In the week ending April 3, the Gwent Valleys recorded 84 per cent more excess deaths than the average for that same week from the past five years, according to the ONS.

Excess deaths are defined as the difference between the observed numbers of deaths in specific time periods and the expected numbers of deaths in the same time period.

Overall, the area had more deaths than usual in nine of the 15 weeks between March 6 and June 12.

In Torfaen, there have been 43 more deaths (eight per cent) up to the end of June than in 2019.

Looking specifically at the number of deaths involving Covid-19 to areas within local authorities, 11 people died in Pontnewydd and Upper Cwmbran with the virus between March and June.

In these cases, coronavirus was the underlying cause or was mentioned on the death certificate as a contributory factor.

At the other end of the scale, New Inn had no recorded deaths – the only one of Torfaen’s 13 areas to have no deaths.

In Torfaen, 66 people have died since the start of the pandemic with two deaths linked to coronavirus in June. In total, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board have recorded 275 coronavirus-related deaths.

In their latest release, Public Health Wales said a total of 362 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Torfaen, with one new case in the past seven days.

Across the Gwent region, there have been 2,749 cases of coronavirus, with Newport (884) and Caerphilly (744) accounting for almost 60 per cent of those between them.

There have been five new cases recorded in Gwent over the past seven days, including two on Tuesday.