Coronavirus: Cases surge to 397.3 per 100,000 population

Cyprus’ Covid–19 cumulative diagnosis rate increased by more than 50 per cent this week as Limassol’s value spiked to 923.1 from 641.2 per 100,000 residents, according to the biweekly epidemiological report.

Hospital admissions also saw a huge increase according to the health ministry, with Limassol general hospital in “dramatic situation”.

Between February 24 to March 9, the country diagnosed 3,528 coronavirus cases from 39,725 RT PCR and 522,215 rapid antigen tests. Limassol, a declared dark red zone according to the ECDC categorisation, amounting for 2,292 of those cases, a corresponding 65 per cent.

Thus the 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate, a measure which reflects the number of active Covid-19 cases, spiked to 397.3 per 100,000 population from 263.5 in the previous two weeks and 168.7 as of February 26. The safety limit set by ECDC is 150 per 100,000.

“There is a clear upward trend in all indicators,” the health ministry said.

It added that the weekly positivity rate shows an increasing trend, with Limassol’s positivity rate counting more than 1 per cent. Last month, the positivity rate from rapid tests had increased to 0.4 per cent from 0.2 per cent, and to 0.8 from 0.5 per cent in Limassol.

Nicosia has recorded 742 cases in the last 14 days, Larnaca 224, Paphos 158, Famagusta 59 and another 53 cases were reported either in the British bases or had a residence abroad. The majority of the cases were locally acquired while 35 were imported.

Of the total 3,528 cases, 53,1 per cent are women while the cases included 717 infants and children under 19 and 557 people over 60. The rest of the cases concern the 20-59 age group with four cases whose age was not recorded. The median age was 37.

The majority of the people who tested positive in the last 14 days (70.4 per cent) reported at least one symptom, while the rest 1,044 people reported no symptoms at diagnosis, the report added.

Hospitalisations were doubled in the last ten days with most patients coming from Limassol.

“It is clear that hospitals are under strain, with a significant increase in the mobile average of admissions and patients, while an increase in ICU admissions has started to show,” the ministry added.

As of March 11, 171 people were still hospitalised with the median age of patients being 65 years.

Of them, 22 are in the ICU and 18 are intubated. The median age of the ICU patients is 68 and 18 of them are men. Eighteen of them have pre-existing conditions.

More than 70 per cent, or 121 patients are from Limassol.

The coronavirus ward of the Limassol general hospital has reached its limits currently treating 190 patients with more admissions expected, said the person in charge of the ward, Andreas Kostis to the Cyprus News Agency on Friday.

The number of elderly patients has decreased while more admissions of younger people are recorded “who are now seriously ill”, including that of a 23-year-old man, Kostis added.

“We had almost reached full capacity since last Friday and we were sending patients in both Paralimni and Nicosia hospitals,” the doctor explained.

He added that some people refuse to be admitted initially but must return to the hospital for treatment a few days later in a much worse condition. “Those who have pre-existing health conditions must come to the hospital early in consultation with their personal doctor,” Kostis said.

Limassol district also attributed for most deaths recorded in the last 14 days.

Specifically, out of the five Covid deaths recorded, 83 per cent of them came from Limassol.

The country does not have an excessive mortality rate during the pandemic, according to the European mortality monitoring activity EuroMOMO which detects and measures excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Out of a total of 288 deaths of people with coronavirus, 236 people died from coronavirus in Cyprus as of March 11.

Most of them, 85 people came from Nicosia and 73 from Limassol followed by Larnaca with 43 deaths, Paphos with 18 deaths and Famagusta with 11 deaths as well as six deaths for which information as to their origin was not available.

Nicosia has 346,400 residents compared with Limassol which has 248,300 according to data provided in the graphs of the health ministry’s report.