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COVID19: Cyprus cases rise to 132

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Cyprus confirmed eight new coronavirus cases on Wednesday bringing the number to 132 since the outbreak on March 9.

Added to the 42 confirmed cases in the Turkish occupied north of the island, divided Cyprus has a total of 174 infected people since the outbreak.

Among the 8 new confirmed cases in the Republic were four people located through tracking down contacts of other confirmed cases.

Two of the cases were people who returned to Cyprus from Europe countries and after developing symptoms they got in touch with the authorities.

The background of another positive two positive cases is being investigated.

The epidemiological monitoring unit of the Ministry of Health has already started tracking down the contacts of all 8 confirmed cases and will proceed with taking samples for the specialised tests to be conducted.

The number of positive cases has reached 132, including three in the British Bases, of which 69 were infected in Cyprus.

Five of the cases are on a ventilator, two of which are in a more critical condition, but the majority are self-isolating at home.

A three-month-old baby is also being treated at Nicosia’s Makarios Hospital as a precaution after coming into contact with a confirmed case. The baby is said to be in good health.

Cyprus registered its first death to the coronavirus on Saturday, a 70-year-old Briton who was infected at Paphos General by his fellow patient. Since then two more people have died.

The other two dead are a 63-year-old British resident in Cyprus who was the first infected at Paphos General and a 58-year-old Cypriot pilot.

The Briton had underlying health issues, for which he was being treated at the Intensive Care Unit in Paphos General, but the Cypriot had no underlying health conditions.

Famagusta General Hospital is currently treating 17 people, two of whom are in the ICU.

The Ministry expects that the number of cases at hospital ICUs will increase as more people will need to be put on ventilators.

The Ministry also said that it is preparing to increase beds for COVID-19 patients as additional wards have been evacuated at the Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca General Hospitals.

Beds are intended for severe cases such as pneumonia.

Currently, there are 32 beds at ICU units, a number the ministry wants to gradually bring up to 125.

The Health Ministry once again called on the public to abide by instructions and decrees issued by the government as the country’s health services need to buy time in order to be able to care for all people who are seriously ill.

Turkish Cypriots

Turkish Cypriot authorities have reported two more cases of coronavirus, bringing the number of cases in the north to 42 while fears of the virus spreading grow stronger.

Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen, said some 34 speed tests conducted on hotel staff and police officers are believed to be positive for the virus.

The cases relate to hotel staff and police who were assigned to guard a group of 39 tourists from Germany which were quarantined at a hotel in Famagusta.

Some 31 members of the 39-strong tourist group contracted the virus.

The majority of the tourists reportedly caught the virus from a 65-year-old member of the group.

The 65-year-old German woman was the first coronavirus case to be reported in the north, followed by her husband and a Turkish Cypriot returning from the UK.

Seven of the other cases reported officially in the north involve Turkish Cypriots, an indication that community transmission of the novel coronavirus is present in the north.