COVID19: Cyprus cases edge past 800, 14 deaths

4738 views
1 min read

Cyprus recorded nine new infections of COVID-19, and another fatality on Friday, taking the total number of cases to 804 while the death toll increased to 14.

A total of 19 patients who contracted COVID-19 have passed away but only 14 of these deaths had coronavirus as the underlying cause.

The latest COVID-19 death was a 69-year-old man with underlying health conditions who died at Nicosia General Hospital.

Ten of the patients to lose their life due to COVID-19 were men and four were women, the median age was 70.

Presenting Friday’s results, Health Ministry advisor Dr Leontios Kostrikis said that the nine new positive cases were detected from 2,698 tests, bringing the total of confirmed infections in the Cyprus Republic to 804.

Three people tested positive from tracing of already confirmed cases and another was found positive through 196 tests.

Three more cases were found from tests carried out at private labs on the request of individuals.

The Health Ministry said that four cases were identified through some 1,447 tests carried out within the framework of 20,000 tests for frontline workers.

Since April 11, some 13,553 out of the 20,000-test programmed were carried out.

Health authorities said that despite a spike in cases compared to the five reported the previous day, they remain confident that Cyprus on the right track as the results coincide with the expectations of the scientific team monitoring the spread of the virus.

Kostrikis, however, called on people to continue abiding by the stay at home decrees, as the virus is still present in the community.

Dr Marios Loizou of the Cyprus State Health Services Organisation said 17 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.

Four people are now intubated, one of whom is at the ICU of Limassol General Hospital and two at the ICU in Nicosia General Hospital.

Five more patients are hospitalized at ICUs without being on a ventilator, four of which are being treated at Nicosia General Hospital ICU, and one at Limassol General Hospital’s ICU.

All of the ICU patients are critical but stable.

Commenting on the downward trend of coronavirus cases being hospitalised, Dr Loizou said the human factor was crucial to this success.

In Cyprus, the mortality rate is well below the international average at 2.2% for all COVID-19 patients and 1.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.