COVID19: No deaths, infection rate low

Cyprus reported no coronavirus deaths for the second time this month, with a low figure of 153 new cases and 89 hospitalisations lowering the benchmark infection rate to 0.24%, far below the high-risk level.

The health ministry said in its daily Covid bulletin that the death toll since the pandemic started remained at 545, of whom 33 were recorded in September.

No deaths were also reported on Sunday, September 12.

The number of patients currently admitted at state hospitals for treatment dropped to 89 from Thursday’s 97, of whom 36 remain in serious condition, five less from the previous day.

Meanwhile, 15 patients remain intubated, three fewer than the day before, while 74% of hospital patients are unvaccinated.

Another 11 patients are considered post-Covid, having recovered from the virus, but remain intubated and in a serious state.

The total number of all SARS-CoV-2 infections since the pandemic started in March 2020 rose to 118,723.

The number of PCR and antigen rapid tests conducted during the past 24 hours dropped to 64,290, around 13,000 more than the day before, of whom 12,396 were high school students and teachers with nine positive results.

With higher number of tests and 153 new infections, 29 more than the day before, the benchmark ‘test positivity’ rate remained unchanged at 0.24% and well below the high-risk threshold of 1%.

Of the new cases, 25 were identified from contact tracing, linked to earlier infections, 15 were passengers arriving at Larnaca and Paphos airports, and 27 were diagnosed from private initiative and hospital tests.

A further 65 cases were identified from private rapid tests at labs and pharmacies and 21 were positive from the free national testing programme, available only to those vaccinated or recovered from earlier infections.

All of the 474 samples taken from staff and residents at retirement homes tested negative.