New coronavirus cases in Cyprus on Saturday hit their highest level for six weeks, with the recent spike of infections blamed on the more potent Indian variant.
Infections went above 200 for the first time since 13 May, rising above Friday’s 169 to reach 226.
The Health Ministry said that there were no deaths attributed to Covid-19, making it the twelfth day in a row., but cases are rising.
In its daily Covid bulletin, the ministry said the death toll since the pandemic started remained unchanged at 378 with an average age of 77. Of these, 14 were in June.
Reported infections have skyrocketed, having remained below 100 for several weeks, as restrictions were lifted and the public ignored protocols.
Saturday’s hospitalisation rate also worsened with 43 people being treated for Covid-19 in state hospitals, up by two from Friday. The number of critical cases also edged up to 18, one more than the day before.
The total number of infections during the past 15 months is now at 74,569.
Some 41,809 PCR and antigen rapid tests were conducted on Saturday, which, based on the 226 new cases of SARS-CoV-2, generated a benchmark ‘test positivity’ rate of 0.54%, higher than Friday’s Thursday’s 0.40%, and moving toward the high-risk threshold of 1.00%.
Of the new cases, 33 new infections were identified through contact tracing, six passengers arriving at Larnaca and Paphos airports tested positive, while 47 new cases were diagnosed from private labs and hospital tests.
A further 140 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were diagnosed through the national rapid testing programme, the same level as Friday.
Once again, the Famagusta district accounted for the highest test positivity rate of 0.94% and 37 cases. Limassol had the most cases with 43 (0.48%), followed by 41 in Nicosia (0.30%), 13 in Larnaca (0.24%), and six in Paphos with the lowest rate of 0.16%.
The government is concerned about increasing daily COVID-19 cases among younger people with a more active social life, while evidence suggests that infected Cypriots are not declaring their close contacts.
The Health Ministry attributed the rise to people no longer abiding by COVID protocols due to pandemic fatigue.
More than half of the cases in recent days involved people under 40.
Many people who test positive fail to cooperate with the contact tracing team and do not declare their contacts.
According to contact tracing data, only 7% of cases were fully vaccinated, while 45% of those who tested positive belong to the 18 to 39 age group.
Health authorities have been urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in a bid “to contain the rapid spread of the Delta variant which poses a double risk of transmission, infection and hospitalisation”.
According to the latest available data, 63.9% of the adult population has received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 47.8% have completed their vaccination.
