COVID19: At 51, Cyprus cases still high as stricter mask rules kick in

At 51 new SARS-CoV-2 cases announced on Wednesday, Cyprus continues to face a high risk of the pandemic getting out of hand, with the Health Minister announcing stricter mask wearing rules as of Thursday.

Minister Constantinos Ioannou said that for any two people indoors, masks have to worn, exceptions being places serving food and drink.

The new coronavirus cases are below Tuesday’s record 83 cases, initially reported at 62 and later revised upwards. The total for Covid-19 infections in the Republic of Cyprus is now 2,181.

The health ministry officials are concerned that the clusters that have formed, primarily in Limassol, are linked to a number of cafés, as well as university students, including from the Cyprus University of Technology (TEPAK) nursing school.

Wednesday’s cases arose from 2,291 tests, but the health ministry had not yet received the detailed reports from the various labs and the results from contact tracing.

Three new Covid-19 cases were reported in the Turkish-occupied north, all of them ferry passengers arriving from Turkey, raising the total to 819.

Islandwide, the total number of cases is 3,000, with 29 deaths – 25 in the Republic of Cyprus and four in the north.