COVID19: October starts with 2 deaths, fewer tests

Cyprus reported two coronavirus deaths on Friday and a significant drop in the discovery of new cases to 59 due to fewer tests on the public holiday.

The health ministry said in its daily Covid report that a 54 year old woman and an 82 year old man were the latest victims of the pandemic, raising the death toll since March last year to 554.

September ended with no coronavirus deaths for four days in a row and reported ten days without deaths. The death toll for the month was 40, following the record 80 who succumbed in August.

New cases dropped to 59 from 129 the day before, while the number of patients currently admitted at state hospitals for treatment dropped by six to 73. Of these, 30 remain in serious condition, four fewer from the previous day.

Meanwhile, 13 patients remain intubated, while 62% of hospital patients are unvaccinated.

Another 10 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 March 2020 rose to 120,331.

The number of PCR and antigen rapid tests conducted during the past 24 hours rose to 26,652, around 36,000 less than on Thursday, due to the Independence Day public holiday on Friday.

With a lower number of tests and fewer 59 new infections, 70 fewer than the day before, the benchmark ‘test positivity’ rate rose marginally to 0.22% from 0.21% and remains well below the high-risk threshold of 1%.

Of the new cases, 15 were passengers arriving at Larnaca and Paphos airports, and 16 were diagnosed from private initiative and hospital tests.

A further 17 cases were identified from private rapid tests at labs and pharmacies, and 11 were positive from the free national testing programme, available only to those vaccinated or recovered from earlier infections.

All of the 261 tests on staff and residents at retirement homes had negative results, as were all 68 hotel guests and 379 tests at National Guard camps.

Of the 259 random rapid tests of passengers arriving at Larnaca and Paphos airports, two tested positive.