COVID19: Three deaths, more patients, cases dip below 3,000

Cyprus reported three coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, with new daily cases dipping below the 3,000 marker to 2,987, while hospitalisations increased once again above the 200-bed safety level to 207.

The health ministry said in its Covid bulletin that the latest victims were two women aged 71 and 87, and a 96 year old man, raising the April death toll to 14.

To date, 949 people have died of Covid-19, more than a quarter of whom in the first three months of this year.

March ended with 65 coronavirus deaths, while January was the deadliest month on record with 101, followed by 91 in February, overtaking the previous record of 81 last August.

The total number of patients admitted in Covid wards in state hospitals increased by eight to 207, having breached the 200-safety barrier the past few days, despite briefly dipping below the marker, while critical cases were up two at 30.

Intubated patients decreased to six, while 56% of hospitalised COVID-19 patients were reported as unvaccinated.

13 are post-Covid

A further 13 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 rose to 446,999.

A total 84,718 PCR and antigen rapid tests were conducted during the past 24 hours, about 21,000 less than the day before, with 33,000 tests in schools.

Of the 10,582 tests in high schools, 61 were positive, and 98 from 18,691 tests in primary schools, while 60 new infections identified from the “test to stay” programme for students and teachers, which also includes kindergartens.

With a significant drop in the number of tests, as well as in new cases from 4,210 to 2,987, the benchmark ‘positivity rate’ dropped from 4.0% to 3.53%, down from the record 7.27% nearly two weeks ago, and more than three times above the safe marker of 1%.

Of the new infections, 110 were identified through contact tracing linked to earlier infections.

There were 51 new infections in care homes and three in restricted institutions.