COVID19: Death toll rises to 971

The Health Ministry on Friday revised its COVID-19 death count after reviewing data reporting an additional 19 deaths over the past year, raising the total since March 2020 to 971 from 952.

The 19 additional deaths confirmed were seven men and 12 women aged 53 to 97.

These deaths occurred between 5 May 2021 and 20 February 2022.

The ministry said it had revised the death toll after reviewing and updating its logs on COVID-19 deaths and cases reported.

The Health Ministry updates its database regularly to deliver a more accurate epidemiological surveillance picture of the pandemic.

Officials said that the new deaths were either reported late by general practitioners or health institutions or were identified after investigations carried out by health ministry officers.

On Thursday, Cyprus reported two more coronavirus deaths, with new daily cases dropping slightly to 2,457.

At the same time, hospitalisations increased to 208, as the government said it would abolish most restrictions, including a mask mandate for outdoors and the Safe Pass for work or shopping.

Since March 2020, Cyprus has reported 452,172 COVID-19 cases.