Coronavirus cases in Cyprus returned to single-digits on Wednesday as health authorities announce another six new COVID-19 cases, less than half the previous day.
After spiking to 15 on Tuesday, numbers dropped back down, allowing scientists to remain confident that authorities can relax restrictive measures.
The six new COVID-19 cases bring the total of confirmed infections in the Cyprus Republic to 843 since the outbreak on March 9. The death toll still remains at 15.
The six positive cases were detected from 2,436 tests.
Five people tested positive from tracing of already confirmed cases whereas one was found positive through the tests run by the microbiological labs of all General Hospitals.
Some 315 tests were carried out on contacts of known cases.
The Health Ministry said it carried out another 587 tests within the initial testing scheme for 20,000 frontline workers.
Since April 11, some 17,601 out of the initial 20,000-test programmed have been done.
Another 214 were carried out on Wednesday in the framework of 2,000 extra tests paid for by the state for workers in the food and beverage chain of supply.
Health Ministry advisors said that results were within the expectations of the epidemiological committee and the road map for lifting restrictive measures to be announced on Wednesday night by President Nicos Anastasiades.
Dr Marios Loizou of the Cyprus State Health Services Organisation OKYPY said 15 patients are hospitalized at the Famagusta COVID-19 reference hospital, one of whom is in the Advanced Care Unit (ACU).
Their condition is described as generally stable. Two patients were discharged on Wednesday.
Four people are now intubated, one of whom is at the ICU of Limassol General Hospital and three at the ICU in Nicosia General Hospital.
Two more patients are being treated in ICUs without being on a ventilator, one at Nicosia General ICU and the other at Limassol General Hospital.
All the ICU patients are critical but stable.
Dr Loizou said people are entitled to some freedom after the efforts they put in to contain the virus.
“For months now, we have all been at war with an invisible enemy. We stayed away from our own people; we changed our lifestyle. We were deprived of a lot. But we stayed healthy, we protected the vulnerable groups, we saved as many lives as we could,” said Loizou.
COVID-19 cases worldwide have reached 3.165 million, while the number of deaths is 220,000.
