COVID19: Fewer patients, more new cases

2886 views
1 min read

Cyprus reported a drop in the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 to 86, eight less than on Thursday, while the new coronavirus cases rose again, this time to 113, up from 103 the day before.

The health ministry said that a 49-year-old woman, with underlying health issue, died at Nicosia General hospital, raising the death toll since the pandemic started to 219.

February has so far accounted for 20 deaths, far from December and January which were the worst months on record, with 76 each.

In all, 148 men have died since last March and 71 women, with the average age at 79 years.

The number of coronavirus patients dropped significantly from 94 the day before to 86, with the critical cases also dropping to 29, having remained unchanged at 35 throughout the entire week.

Tests also increased, with 31,205 conducted on Friday, up from 25,971 on Thursday, but less than the 40,974 last Sunday, the eve of easing more lockdown measures, that included the reopening of retail shops and most schools on Monday.

The 113 new cases of SARS-CoV-2, is up from 103 on Thursday, raising the total to date to 32,288.

The tests, of which 1,290 employed the PCR molecular method and 29,915 antigen rapid tests, as part of a free national testing programme, diagnosed 30 positive cases from contact tracing linked to earlier infections.

Four from the nine samples taken from national basketball and volleyball teams tested positive, while the rapid tests identified 62 new cases – mainly in Limassol (44), Nicosia (10), Larnaca (5) and Paphos (2).

Of the 718 rapid tests at old people’s homes, only one sample from residents and staff was positive.

 

Limassol a concern

Earlier in the day, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said that while the overall epidemiological situation in Cyprus seems to be improving, Limassol remains a major concern.

“Since December, there has been a great difference when comparing Limassol to other districts,” he said, adding that in recent weeks it was even more intense.

Ioannou said that while the cumulative diagnosis rate in the other districts was below 150 per 100,000 people over the last 14 days, which is the safety benchmark set by the EU, in Limassol this number was more than double, at around 335.

In total, between January 27 and February 9, some 835 cases were detected in the Limassol area, 370 in Nicosia, 181 in Larnaca, 61 in Paphos and 51 in Famagusta district. Another 38 were reported either in the British bases or had a residence abroad, or information for which was not available.

“This is of particular concern to us, which is why today all the relevant ministries have been instructed to intensify their controls,” the minister said, adding that testing would be intensified in Limassol in the next few days.

He stressed that authorities are not looking to single out Limassol, but “Limassolians will have to try harder,” calling on all the district’s population to get tested.