Cyprus’ COVID infection rate has taken a turn for the worse, following months of steady decline, after the Health Ministry said the two-week cumulative case diagnosis rate stands at 204.4 per 100,000.
The island’s cumulative notification rate had shot up by 35% compared to data released in the previous national report for 28 September – 11 October, when the rate was 151.5 per 100,000.
Also, the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has kept Cyprus in its high-risk red category.
Red zone areas are where the 14-day cumulative COVID-19 case notification rate ranges from 75 to 200, and the test positivity rate is 4% or more, or the 14-day cumulative case rate is over 200 but less than 500 (when the cumulative rate exceeds 500, the area is “deep red”).
According to the epidemiological survey issued by the Health Ministry on Friday, 1,815 cases were diagnosed, compared to 1,345 reported in the previous report.
The Health Ministry’s says the 10-19 age group is experiencing higher rates of infection.
The cumulative diagnosis rate for the age group 10-19 years was 359.7 per 100,000. The second-highest rate was recorded among people aged 30 to 59, with 228.4 cases per 100,000.
The age group, 20 to 29, had a rate of 191.5, while the rate for children 0 to 9 years was 161.3.
Groups of older people had a lower rate, those 60 to 69 reported a rate of 143.8 and 70 to 79 had 97.9.
The 80+ group reported the lowest rate with 59.7.
The median age was 33 for all cases.
Despite a spike in cases, the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalised has so far remained low.
On 25 October, 60 patients were treated for COVID-19 at state hospitals, of which 10 cases are still in ICU, with the median age of current ICU patients being 64.
The ministry also said Cyprus has a low mortality rate, with 570 fatalities (as of 26 October) from coronavirus since the outbreak.
And 50% of deaths diagnosed with COVID-19 concerned people aged 69-85, with a median age of death of 78 and a mean age of 76.1 years.
Authorities have attributed the low death rate to the response of the country’s health system and the high vaccination rate among its population.
So far, more than 82% of the adult population has received at least the first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, while almost 80% have completed their vaccination scheme.
Cyprus has launched a booster shot programme for people aged 60 and over.
So far, just 33,000 have had a booster jab; 6,000 are either health professionals or belong to a vulnerable group.
Some 185,000 people over the age of 60 are fully vaccinated.
