Cyprus reported three deaths in its weekly Covid bulletin on Friday, with new cases continuing to rise to 10,879 during the week from 7,263 the week before, with hospitalisations nearly doubling, following the removal of almost all restrictions in early June.
The of all coronavirus infection cases since the pandemic started rose to 515,596.
The Health Ministry said the latest victims were two men aged 75 and 87 and an 84 year old woman, raising the June toll to six and all deaths since March 2020 to 1,075.
The death toll for May was 23, while April’s death toll was 75, just ahead of 67 in March.
January remained the deadliest month on record with 101 deaths, followed by 96 in February, overtaking the previous record of last August, adjusted to 84.
Some 370, or a third of all deaths in Cyprus occurred in the first six months of this year.
Hospitalisations once again increased significantly within a week from 47 to 75, critical cases remained at four, with one intubated patient.
A further two patients are still considered post-Covid, unchanged from the week before, having recovered from the virus but remaining intubated and in a serious state.
1,554 daily
The past week saw 10,879 new cases, up 3,616 from last week, with the average daily up by 50% from 1,038 to 1,554
Testing increased with a total of 93,607 PCR and rapid antigen tests were conducted during the past week, 20,000 more than the week before, as restrictions were almost completely lifted as of June 1, abolishing the use of masks.
This measure remains only in critical healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and care homes, where a negative rapid test is required to enter, as well as in ‘high congestion’ areas.
However, the government is considering re-instating some restrictions in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.
With a significant increase in the number of tests, as well as in new cases, the benchmark ‘positivity rate’ spiraled to a new year-high of 11.62% from 9.77% last week and 6.5% the week before, nearly twelve times above the safe limit of 1%.
Of the new Covid cases, nine were identified through contact tracing linked to earlier infections.
Ten soldiers serving in the National Guard tested positive and 29 new cases were reported in care homes, as well as 13 in restricted institutions.
