Cyprus will decide on Thursday if it will go ahead and lift further restrictions, despite daily coronavirus cases rising to a record 6,494 a week ago, with hospitalisations also increasing steadily and passing the 200-mark, considered a manageable level in hospitals.
The government is under pressure to reduce testing requirements, especially in schools, while wearing a mask may be limited only to indoor spaces.
Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela said on Sunday that the cabinet will decide on easing COVID-19 measures after consulting the Health Advisory Committee on Wednesday, which may include abolishing the use of masks outdoors and decreasing the number of tests.
Speaking to reporters in Limassol after an event organised by the Liver Patients’ Association “Prometheus”, Hadjipantela said the authorities are monitoring current developments, including the benchmark of hospital admissions before easing any more measures.
Earlier in the week, virologist Maria Koliou said that epidemiologists advising the government had suggested that a mask mandate for outdoor facilities would be waived; however, that decision was put on ice after a new surge in cases.
Wait a few weeks
She noted that health authorities had opted to wait a couple of weeks to see how the new surge of cases would affect the number of hospitalisations, especially for patients needing intensive care.
“Despite the rise in cases, we have not seen the number of people in need of ICU treatment follow the same trend.”
Authorities are contemplating reducing the number of tests carried out, with Dr Koliou commenting that scientists were still unsure.
Last week, Hadjipantela confirmed that further relaxations were on the cards, provided that hospitalisations remain stable.
It includes dropping the mask mandate for outdoor facilities and reducing the number of tests carried out on students every week.
Pulmonologist Dr Charis Armeftis said: “Cyprus is the leading country when it comes to conducting tests“.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, 30,000,000 tests have been carried out, which means that we spend half a million euros every day and EUR 15,000,000 per month.
“That money is equivalent to another 50 intensive care beds.
“The number of tests in Cyprus is unrealistically high compared to the rest of the world.
“We are first in Europe, carrying out some 26 tests to identify one positive case, while in Germany, the ratio is two to one.”
According to Armeftis, the Health Ministry should focus on protecting those at risk, campaigning to persuade the unvaccinated and those who have not received a booster shot to come forward.
Last month, Cyprus was warned by the World Health Organisation over lifting coronavirus restrictions too “brutally”, facilitating the spread of the highly transmissible Omicron 2 subvariant of COVID-19.
