COVID19: Six deaths as January is second worst month

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Cyprus reported six coronavirus deaths on Sunday with January becoming the second worst month on record, as new cases dropped to 1,971 and hospitalisations remained unchanged at 270.

The Health Ministry said in its Covid bulletin that four women and two men aged 80 to 90 were the latest victims, raising the death toll since the pandemic started to 681.

With 43 deaths this month, January overtook December’s 41 deaths, behind a record 80 in August 2021.

An unprecedented surge of COVID-19 cases, powered by the Omicron variant, is beginning to abate, dropping under 3,000 for the second day in a row in two weeks.

Hospitalisations remained unchanged at 270, as serious cases increased by four, to 92.

Intubated patients rose by three 31, while 71% of hospital patients were unvaccinated.

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

Also, twelve patients remain admitted at the Covid ward of the Makarios Children’s Hospital

The total number of SARS-CoV-2 infections since March 2020 is 225,738.

A total of 95,005 PCR and rapid tests were conducted during the past 24 hours, just 750 fewer than Saturday.

 

Positivity rate drops to 2.07%

Mildly fewer tests and a significant drop in new cases saw the benchmark ‘positivity’ rate fall slightly to 2.07% from the previous day’s 2.46%, having skyrocketed to 5.98% on New Year’s day, six times above the high-risk barrier of 1%.

Of the new infections, 163 were identified through contact tracing linked to earlier infections, 54 were passengers who arrived at Larnaca and Paphos airports, and 191 were diagnosed from private initiative, hospital and GP tests.

A further 763 cases were detected from private rapid tests at labs and pharmacies, and 927 were positive from the free national testing programme, available only to those vaccinated or recovered from earlier infections.

Four of the 218 tests in retirement homes were positive for Covid-19, as were 14 samples among 2,331 tests in restricted institutions.