During the first day of tougher social distance measures, Cyprus registered another jump in new coronavirus cases and one death, bringing total infections to 262 plus eight deaths since the outbreak.
The number of daily cases on Tuesday reached 32 including four in the British Bases.
It is only the second time daily confirmed cases have exceeded 30 since the outbreak on March 9.
Government data suggests that Paphos is at the epicentre of the outbreak with 39.3% of coronavirus cases, followed by Larnaca 23.1% and Famagusta 14.5% the largest towns Nicosia and Limassol have 9.7% and 3.3% respectively.
The Health Ministry said on Tuesday one more person died from COVID-19, while another 32 tested positive, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 214 (including nine in the British Bases) of which 143 were infected in Cyprus.
The eighth person to die in Cyprus was an 83-year-old man with underlying health issues.
So far, seven men and one woman, with an age average of 68, have died from COVID-19, six of whom had underlying health conditions.
Announcing the spike in new cases, Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Cyprus Dr Leontios Kostrikis, said four were from the British Bases, 13 had contact with previously diagnosed cases while another 15 infections being investigated.
The 262 cases were confirmed following 7, 397 tests run by the Institute of Neurology and Genetics and the Microbiology Department of the Nicosia General Hospital.
“The large number of new confirmed cases recorded in recent days does not surprise us.
This was expected and that is why we, as a scientific committee, recommended to the government to stiffen restrictions to limit the sources of contamination,” said Kostrikis.
“I repeat that we will begin to see a change in the data for the better, provided that we implement the restrictive measures as far as possible,” he added.
Dr Marios Loizou of the State Health Services Organisation (OKYPY) said 28 people were hospitalized at Famagusta General Hospital. Five of them remained at the ICU. One person was discharged from the hospital.
“As you can see, the situation we are experiencing is unprecedented and the impact is multifaceted. That’s why we stay home, save time, save lives.”
