Coronavirus: No deaths, 601 new cases announced on Friday (updated)

No deaths from Covid-19 were announced Friday, as the number of new infections detected reached 601 from a record 63,207 tests. The positivity rate was, 0.95 per cent.

The ministry said 205 patients were being treated in hospital, 50 in serious condition.

The number of cases since the pandemic broke out in March last year has reached 50,589 and the number of deaths is 268.

The virus has claimed the lives of 176 men and 92 women with the average age of the deceased being 79.

Of the 50 patients in serious condition, 29 were intubated, two were being treated in an ICY without intubation, and 19 in high dependency units.

Health authorities carried out a record number of tests on Friday, including 4,495 using PCR. The rest were rapid antigen tests.

Of the 601 new infections, 148 concerned close contacts of previously confirmed cases detected in 1,011 samples.

Five cases were found among 1,024 samples tested at the Republic’s two airports, the health ministry said.

An additional 113 infections were found after 2,078 tests conducted by private labs and 12 after 346 tests carried out by state hospital labs.

Nineteen cases were reported by private labs after testing 539 samples using rapid antigen tests.

Most new infections, 304, were detected in 58,173 samples tested as part of the government’s mass screening programme.

Of those, 86 were detected in Nicosia among 16,545 samples, a positivity rate of 0.52 per cent, 96 in Limassol from 10,535 tests, 0.91 per cent, 52 in Larnaca from 5,265 tests, 0.99 per cent, 15 in Paphos from 3,137 tests, 0.48 per cent, and 14 in Famagusta in 2,310 samples, a positivity rate of 0.61.

Two more cases were found among 535 samples tested by a crew at Aradhippou industrial estate, 15 people were found infected with the virus after 7,290 tests conducted in businesses, and 24 infections were detected among 11,177 samples collected in schools.

Turkish Cypriot health authorities announced one death and 68 new cases on Friday from 8,323 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.

The total number of deaths from Covid-19 in the north has reached 27 while the number of infections since March 2020 was 4,945.