Coronavirus: Grim January follows deadly December

It has been a grim January, with 61 coronavirus-related deaths so far, 24 of them in one week alone, according to figures published by the health ministry on Friday.

This follows on from a black December when 85 coronavirus related deaths were recorded, more than twice the 35 deaths in November. Indicative of the dramatic increase is the fact that only 33 deaths were recorded in the seven months from the start of the outbreak in Cyprus in March to end October 2020.

The latest statistics also show that about a quarter of Cyprus’ coronavirus deaths concern residents of care homes.

The figures published on Friday cover the period of March 2020 to January 20, 2021.

They show a total of 214 coronavirus related deaths, 67 per cent (143) men and 33 per cent (71) women.

Of the 214 deaths, 178 or 83 per cent were attributed to Covid-19. Of these, 119 or 67 per cent were men and 59 or 33 per cent were women.

Of the 61 deaths of people who have tested positive for coronavirus so far in January, 53 were attributed to Covid-19 and the other eight were due to other causes.

The biggest frequency of deaths was among the age group of 80 to 84, which accounted for 55 deaths or 26 per cent of the total.

The deadliest month so far was December with 85 coronavirus related deaths, or 40 per cent of the total.

In the second week of January, Cyprus recorded 24 deaths of people who had tested positive with coronavirus, which represents 11 per cent of the total since the start of the pandemic.

The report also showed that 53 deaths concerned care home residents, 42 of whom died in a state hospital. Nicosia had the highest number with 26, followed by Limassol with 22, while four were from Larnaca care homes and one from Famagusta.

The breakdown for the 178 deaths attributed to Covid-19 as regards permanent residence was Nicosia 65, Limassol 56, Larnaca 33, Paphos 12 and Famagusta 10. No district was given for two deaths.

The report also noted that according to EuroMOMO (European Mortality Monitoring), which it joined in October 2020, Cyprus has not shown excess mortality since the start of the outbreak.