Coronavirus: Cyprus carrying out second highest amount of tests in EU

Cyprus ranked second among EU countries in terms of coronavirus testing per 100,000 members of the population during the last two weeks of January, it was announced on Friday.

According to the health ministry, citing data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Cyprus ranks second in terms of examinations (PCR and rapid test) per 100,000 inhabitants for the 14 days preceding 31 January 2021 at 11,775.

Weekly testing rates for week 4, available for 29 countries, varied from 742 to 13,409 tests per 100,000 population, ECDC said.

“Denmark had the highest testing rate for week 4, followed by Cyprus, Luxembourg, Austria and Slovenia.”

The health ministry said the increased number of tests being performed has been a central pillar of the pandemic management strategy since the beginning of the pandemic, with the aim of continuous epidemiological surveillance in the community.

It added that since the beginning of the pandemic in Cyprus, more than 1.5 million tests have been performed. “This allowed the timely detection of 31,379 cases and the immediate activation of the tracing process, by limiting and investigating the contacts of positive cases,” the ministry said.