One person died and 164 have tested positive for coronavirus after 8,366 tests, a positivity rate of 1.96 per cent, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

The death of an 81-year-old man with underlying conditions at Famagusta General Hospital brings the total due to Covid-19 in Cyprus to 176, of whom 117 were men and 59 women. The average age of death is 80.

There are currently 194 coronavirus patients in the island’s hospitals, 59 of them in serious condition – 32 are intubated, six are in the ICU but off the ventilator and the remaining 21 in a high dependency unit.

The 164 new coronavirus cases resulted from 8,366 tests (1,867 PCR and 6,499 rapid tests). Thirty-five were from contact tracing (243 tests), one from 260 tests among passengers, 29 from 689 private initiative tests, 11 from 424 tests at hospital labs, five from 235 tests from referrals of personal doctors and checks of special groups and 83 from rapid tests.

The latter were as follows: Limassol 28, positivity rate 2.32 per cent; Larnaca 13, positivity rate 1.95 per cent; Nicosia 28, positivity rate 1.61 per cent; Paphos two, positivity rate 0.93 per cent; Famagusta three, positivity rate 2.78 per cent; care homes four, banking sector three, public sector zero, industry zero, building sites zero, national guard two.