Cyprus on Thursday recorded only another five new infections of COVID-19, taking the total number of cases to 795 while deaths remain at a lowly 13.
Health authorities are encouraged as Cyprus remains on the right track and will soon be able to start returning to normality since the outbreak on 9 March.
Easing the lockdown now seems possible as new cases remained in the single-digit range for a fourth day this week. Only Tuesday recorded double-digit COVID-19 cases (12).
The five new positive cases were detected from 2322 tests, bringing the total of confirmed infections in the Cyprus Republic to 795.
Three people tested positive from tracing of already confirmed cases and another was found positive through the tests run by the microbiological labs of all General Hospitals.
Another case was identified from the tests carried out on health workers at public hospitals.
The case involved a health professional working at the Health Centre in the village of Akaki in the Nicosia district.
The Health Ministry said that 788 tests within the framework of 20,000 tests for frontline workers were carried out on Thursday. All tests came back negative.
Since April 11, some 12,106 out of the 20,000-test programmed were carried out.
Health Ministry advisor Dr Leontios Kostrikis said that Thursday’s results show that Cyprus is making progress, allowing authorities to ease restrictions on free movement in the coming weeks.
He did, however, call on people to continue abiding by the stay at home decrees, noting that if this trend continues then the relaxation of restrictive measures will be made safer and at greater speed.
Dr Marios Loizou of the Cyprus State Health Services Organisation said 15 patients are hospitalized at the Famagusta COVID-19 reference hospital, two of whom are in the Advanced Care Unit (ACU).
Their condition is described as generally stable. One patient was discharged.
Seven people are now intubated, one of whom is at the ICU of Limassol General Hospital and six at the ICU in Nicosia General Hospital.
Three more patients are hospitalized at ICUs without being on a ventilator, two of which are being treated at the Nicosia General Hospital ICU, and one at the Limassol General Hospital’s ICU.
All of the ICU patients are critical but stable.
Commenting on the downward trend of new coronavirus cases, Dr Loizou said: “We all need some good news these days,” but warned against complacency.
“We must never forget how contagious this virus is. If it is left uncontrolled things can easily take a turn for the worse.”
Loizou pointed out that, currently, there is no effective vaccine or treatment for coronavirus.
