COVID19: Cases remain above 600, no deaths

Cyprus reported no coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, with new daily cases at 619 and hospitalisations marginally up at 118.

The health ministry said in its Covid bulletin that the death toll since the pandemic started remained unchanged at 602, five of which in December.

Daily infections dropped to 619, having more than doubled the day before to 706.

Hospitalisations increased by two to 118, as serious cases were also increased, at 45.

Intubated patients increased by one to 18, while 78% of hospital patients were reported as unvaccinated.

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

The total number of SARS-CoV-2 infections since March 2020 rose to 138,157.

 

More cases in schools

Testing remained at high levels, with 80,112 PCR and antigen rapid tests on Tuesday, about 20,000 less than the day before, with 22,400 attributed to testing in schools, where cases have been increasing.

Fifteen tested positive from 9,560 samples in primary schools, and 40 had the virus among 12,857 in high schools.

With a drop in tests and daily infections, the benchmark ‘test positivity’ rate rose to 0.77%, from 0.70%, below the high-risk threshold of 1%.

Of the new infections, 81 were identified through contact tracing linked to earlier infections, 17 were passengers arriving at Larnaca and Paphos airports, and 116 were diagnosed from private initiative, hospital, and GP tests.

A further 274 cases were identified from private rapid tests at labs and pharmacies, and 131 were positive from the free national testing programme, available only to those vaccinated or recovered from earlier infections.

All of the 928 tests in retirement homes had a negative result, as well as 184 tests in restricted institutions.