Coronavirus: Coronavirus: One death, 619 new cases as concerns raised over increasing hospitalisations (updated)

One death and 619 new coronavirus cases were announced on Tuesday by the health ministry with concerns raised over the rising number of hospitalisations.

The death concerned a 69-year-old man with an underlying health condition. He was not vaccinated.

So far, 274 deaths from Covid-19 have been recorded: 181 men and 93 women with average age 78 years.

The new cases were from 51,256 tests, giving a positivity rate of 1.21 per cent.

A total of 228 patients with Covid-19 were being treated in state hospitals with 33 of the 63 patients who are in serious condition intubated.

Commenting on the rise in hospitalisations, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Tuesday afternoon that admissions in hospitals and intensive care units were “rising alarmingly.”

“The situation is very serious, and it is worth, for all of us, to try to stop the dangerous course before it is too late,” the minister said in a post on social media. Ioannou urged people to be alert and follow the health protocols.

Head of the Limassol general hospital’s Covid ward Dr Anderas Kosti told state broadcaster CyBC they are currently also treating multiple younger people for the first time with a 29-year-old, a 32-year-old, and a 33-year-old currently in the unit. Kosti called on people to get vaccinated, stressing that the pandemic is not over.

The new cases recorded on Tuesday concern 114 people found positive during contact tracing, and 148 who got tested privately.

Three people were found positive during testing of passengers at Larnaca and Paphos airports.

Another 14 cases were among samples processed at hospital labs and one case was among referrals by personal physicians (GPs) and checks on people in special groups.

Thirty-three cases were from people who got rapid tests in private labs.

Another 306 were cases detected from rapid tests given in all districts on behalf of the health ministry. Of these, 22 cases were found in the education sector, three in the National Guard and one among checks on athletes. Four more cases were detected among tests at the Ergates industrial area and one in that of Aradippou. Two cases concern tests in nursing homes in Nicosia.

In addition to these, 94 cases were detected in the Nicosia district with the positivity rate at 0.68 per cent. In Limassol, 85 cases were detected (0.98 per cent), 66 in Larnaca (1.28 per cent), 16 in Paphos (0.50 per cent) and 12 in the Famagusta district (0.70 per cent).

The total number of cases is now 52,652.