Two more people died from COVID-19 on Monday, according to the health ministry, raising the death toll in Cyprus to 63 with 14 of those in December alone, headed to become the worst month since the pandemic started.
The health ministry also said that of the 9,452 tests conducted during the day, a record 416 new coronavirus cases were diagnosed, up from the previous record 369 on Saturday.
This brought the total of all SARS-CoV-2 cases since March to 12,867.
The cabinet is expected to meet on Friday to review the worsening situation and to decide if further, stricter measures need to be imposed, including a total lockdown during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
The two deaths were elderly men, aged 84 and 89, both of whom were being treated at the Covid-referral clinic at Famagusta General hospital.
This increased the ratio of deaths to 41 men and 22 women, raising the average age by one more year to 77 years.
The health ministry added that 126 people are being treated at state hospitals, 20 of whom are critical. It also said that 68 of these patients are being treated at the dedicate centre at Famagusta General.
Cyprus is finalising its vaccination programme against COVID-19, as authorities expect to see the first batch of vaccines arriving just after Christmas, with the rollout to take place early January.
More scientists are drafted to help health authorities design their large-scale plan, address logistic problems, prioritise groups according to their vulnerability while also informing the public on vaccines available.
The new cases arose from 4,347 molecular PCR tests that diagnosed 216 coronavirus infections, with 200 added from the antigen rapid tests conducted on previous days that required confirmation through the more accurate PCR method.
To date, only about 4-5% of rapid tests have been negative for COVID-19.
Of the 5,105 rapid tests on Monday, 127 cases tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and were sent for PCR confirmation.
With the number of Cypriot students gradually returning home, health authorities tested 2,114 passengers at Larnaca and Paphos airports, where nine cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed. The bulk of the day’s new infections, at 144, were diagnosed through contact tracing.
On a positive note, 90 tests on residents of the Kato Pyrgos-Tylliria area where a major cluster was traced in recent weeks, were all negative.
Of the 127 new cases diagnosed through the rapid tests, Nicosia once again produced the highest number of 55 SARS-CoV-2, followed by Larnaca (29), Famagusta (18), Paphos (10) and Limassol with eight.
This is an about turn from the record infections in Limassol and Paphos in early November, that resulted in a partial lockdown of the two towns in the second half of the month.
Three more cases were diagnosed among soldiers serving in the National Guard and four working in the wider public service.
