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COVID19: Hospital patients at record high

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As Cyprus mulls relaxing pandemic interventions, the health services reported a record number of COVID-19patients being treated in hospitals.

The total number of COVID-19 patients admitted for COVID care has now reached a three-digit figure with 107 now in hospital.

On Wednesday, some 62 patients were receiving treatment at the Famagusta General, the country’s referral hospital for COVID-19, another 27 patients were at Nicosia General, in Limassol 16 patients were hospitalized and two infants at the Makarios Hospital in Nicosia.

The state health services organisation (OKYPY) is expecting the number of COVID-19 patients needing treatment to rise.

Website Philenews quoted Charalambos Charilaou OKYPY’s spokesperson saying: “With daily new cases being in the 100’s, we are expecting a rise in admissions.

OKYPY is preparing, as we expect that people needing to be hospitalised will increase in the next couple of weeks”.

“Unfortunately, we see that a large number of cases are serious and need to remain in hospital for a long time.

“This means that as the days go by with the number of admissions growing, the number of available beds will be limited,” said Charilaou.

OKYPY is particularly concerned over the high number of people in ICU’s, as on Wednesday 15 people were being treated in intensive care with 13 of them on a ventilator.

Government advisor on COVID-19, Dr Leondios Kostrikis conveyed scientists’ concerns over the increase in patients needing hospital care with measures needed to bring numbers down.

“We should be aiming at maintaining a good epidemiological picture not at eradicating the virus, in order to have a manageable situation until a vaccine is available,” said Kostrikis.

An elderly man from a rural care home with a COVID-19 cluster died on Wednesday, raising the death toll to 47.

Cyprus announced 254 new cases Wednesday and is pondering lifting the lockdowns on coronavirus-infested Limassol and Paphos next week.

Wednesday’s new cases raised the national total to 9,453.