Coronavirus: Six more deaths, 337 new cases announced on Saturday (updated)

The health ministry announced the death of six more people from Covid on Saturday and 337 new infections from 11,521 tests.

The positivity rate was 2.93 per cent, the ministry said.

The number of deaths from Covid since the start of the pandemic has reached 147 while cases stood at 27,011.

Hospitals are currently treating 209 patients with Covid with 53 in serious condition, the ministry said.

The deaths concerned three women, 66, 83, and 89, all with underlying health problems, and three men, 60, 72, and 88, who also had other health problems before contracting the virus.

So far, the virus has claimed the lives of 98 men and 49 women. The average age is 80.

The ministry said 209 people were being treated in state hospitals with 53 in serious condition: 31 were intubated, four were being treated in ICUs without intubation, and 18 were in high dependency units.

Of the 337 new infections, 106 were contacts of previously confirmed cases detected through 607 tests.

The majority of new cases, 158, were detected through 7,967 rapid antigen tests.

Three other cases were found in 585 samples collected from travellers at the Republic’s two airports.

Forty-three were among 1,674 samples tested by private laboratories, and 26 were detected in 364 samples tested at state hospitals.

One infection was among 202 samples from people referred by their GPs.

Of the 158 cases detected through antigen tests, 69 were in Limassol, from 1,778 tests, 21 in Larnaca from 1,204 samples, 44 in Nicosia, which also had the higher number of tests, 3,624, 14 in Paphos with 780 tests, and nine in Famagusta after 388 tests.

One case was also found in a care home in Larnaca after 193 tests in Nicosia, Limassol, and Larnaca.