Health authorities said track and tracing close contacts of COVID-19 cases is being hampered by people’s unwillingness to come forward when they develop symptoms or divulge their contact list.
Head of the Health Ministry’s track and trace team Valentinos Silvestros told Philenews that authorities are concerned because, without the cooperation of the public, they cannot trace new outbreaks promptly, especially in Limassol.
“Most likely, as we speak there are people positive to the virus, who either are unaware, as they were never reported as close contacts of confirmed cases or are not on our lists,” said Silvestros.
As a result, he said, authorities do not have a clear epidemiological picture.
He argued that people who test positive after taking a rapid test privately at a pharmacy, or non-licensed labs, do not come forward.
Silvestros said that over the past week, an increasing number of people are being admitted to hospitals for COVID-19 treatment but are not on any official list as a positive case.
“We are losing precious time, since we are not able to get to their contacts quickly, and we all know what that means for the spread of the virus.”
He argued that many people found positive hesitate to give a list of their close contacts or say where they work with some even lying about being unemployed to prevent checks.
“People who are informed they are close contacts of a known case, take a test, if the result is negative, they feel reassured and go about their lives as usual instead of isolating as they are obliged to do”.
Silvestros said the majority of such cases are found in Limassol, but agreed it was an islandwide phenomenon.
The number of elderly people admitted into hospital with COVID-19 in recent days has taken an upswing once more.
He said the elderly appear to be infected by members of their family or people who are tasked with taking care of them at home.
The elderly are a high-risk group, as the 222 COVID-19 deaths have a median age of 79.
On Monday, the Health Ministry issued a warning over the increase in cases found at workplaces such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage outlets and retail stores.
“As a result, the health services have increased checks at such establishments, to spot violations of health regulations to prevent new outbreaks,” said the ministry.
