COVID19: Death toll rises to 823

Cyprus reported four coronavirus deaths on Saturday, with daily cases falling to 1,764, while hospitalisations dropped to 160, of whom 37 were critical.

The Health Ministry said in its Covid bulletin the latest victims were three men and one woman aged between 75 and 90 – raising the February death toll to 65 and 823 since March 2020.

January was the deadliest month with 100 deaths, overtaking the previous record of 80 last August.

Intubated patients fell by two to 11, while 66.88% of hospitalised COVID-19 patients were unvaccinated.

Some 28 patients are still 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 has risen to 304,425.

A total of 80,454 PCR and rapid tests were conducted during the past 24 hours, 30,000 fewer than the day as weekend testing usually dips.

The decrease in tests and new cases from 2,304 to 1,764 saw the benchmark ‘positivity rate’ inch up from 2.08% to 2.19%, double the safe marker of 1%.

Having peaked at 5,457 on January 4, driven by a spike in the Omicron variant, new cases dipped below 3,000 for most of the past week.

Of the new infections, 82 were identified through contact tracing linked to earlier infections.

A further nine tested positive from 216 rapid tests in cares homes.