COVID19: Cyprus may need second coronavirus referral hospital

Cyprus state health services organisation (OKYPY) wants the Health Ministry to establish a second reference hospital for COVID-19, an indication it fears an increase in admissions over the coming weeks.

In comments to the Cyprus News Agency on Tuesday, the organisation’s spokesperson Charalambos Charilaou said the state body asked the ministry to establish a second reference hospital in case the one in Famagusta reaches full capacity and cannot receive any more patients for treatment.

However, as Charilaou said, OKYPY has yet to receive a response or relevant instruction from the ministry.

According to the Health Ministry’s latest update on Monday, 27 patients are currently being treated at Famagusta General Hospital, four of whom are in the Acute Care Unit.

The reference hospital has a total capacity of 100 beds.

“Those with mild or no symptoms are admitted to Eden rehabilitation centre in Tersefanou. The rest of the hospitals will manage suspect cases, while if needs must, Nicosia hospitals will provide beds in the intensive care units (ICU),” Charilaou said.

Charilaou argued that state hospitals are ready to deal with a sharp increase in coronavirus cases.

“Hospitals have revised their planning to cover any weaknesses that existed, based on experiences acquired from dealing with the coronavirus in the past months.”

He added that the private sector has also been instructed on how to treat suspected cases in assigned rooms until the results from the lab tests for COVID-19 are issued.