COVID19: No deaths as new cases skyrocket again

Cyprus reported no coronavirus deaths for the third day in a row on Monday and the eleventh this month, as the number of new daily cases shot up to 354 and hospitalisations edged further to 88.

The Health Ministry said in its daily Covid bulletin that the death toll since the pandemic started remained at 588.

New daily infections rose significantly to 354, up 148 from Sunday, with the number shooting up from the previous high a week earlier when 284 new daily cases were reported on November 8.

Hospitalisations increased by three to 88, of whom 39 are serious, the same as the previous day.

Intubated patients rose to 13 from 11, and 67% of all hospital patients were reported as unvaccinated.

Three patients are still 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 128,038.

The number of PCR and antigen rapid tests conducted during the past 24 hours totalled 66,696, around 26,000 more than the previous day due to testing resuming in schools.

Eleven of the 10,248 samples in high schools tested positive, and four had the virus from 3,298 tests in primary schools.

 

Test rate inches up to 0.53%

With an increase in tests and new cases, the benchmark ‘test positivity’ rate was marginally up at 0.53% from 0.51%, but within the high-risk threshold of 1%.

Of the new cases, 27 were identified through contact tracing linked to earlier infections, three were positive from tests at Larnaca and Paphos airports and 36 were diagnosed from private initiative and hospital tests.

A further 219 cases were identified from private rapid tests at labs and pharmacies, and 69 were positive from the free national testing programme, available only to those vaccinated or recovered from earlier infections.

All of the 1,131 tests at retirement homes were negative, as were 828 tests in special schools and 180 random rapid tests at airports.

Of the 203 samples taken from restricted institutions, three tested positive.