Coronavirus: 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate hit new record high

Cyprus’ 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate for coronavirus hit a new record high with 1,145.6 per 100,000 residents but fewer elderly people appear to be infected and hospitalised, as a result of vaccinations, the health ministry announced on Friday.

In a written report, the ministry’s epidemiological team said 10,173 people tested positive for Covid-19 between April 11 to 24 with the majority aged between 20 and 59, or 65.7 per cent.

Another 23.2 per cent were children and minors under the age of 19 while those aged 60 and over accounted for 11.1 per cent of the cases.

Most cases were recorded in Nicosia, 40.4 per cent, followed by Limassol with 27.5 per cent, and Larnaca, 17.6 per cent.

Paphos had 7.2 per cent of the cases and Famagusta 4.2 per cent.

The remaining 3 per cent of the cases were either reported by the British bases, had a residence abroad, or did not provide information.

The data represents the country’s highest cumulative diagnosis rate since the pandemic outbreak, following a record high of 937 per 100,000 of the population last Friday.

According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the maps created for a coordinated approach to travel measures in the European Union, this keeps the island in the dark red category whose threshold is 500 or more per 100,000 residents.

To enter the green, safest category, Cyprus must record a14-day notification rate lower than 25 cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate below 4 per cent.

Larnaca’s diagnosis rate rose to 1,201.3, from 991.9, in the previous 14 days, pushing the positivity rate up to 1.6 per cent from 1.4 per cent.

Despite Nicosia’s rate rising to 1,187.6 per cent, from 915.1, its positivity rate remained at 1.2 per cent.

The diagnosis rate in Limassol, at 1,038.7 per cent in the previous 14 days, rose to 1,127.3 per cent, with the positivity rate recording a slight decrease from 1.3, to 1.2 per cent, in the last two weeks.

The highest increase was seen in Famagusta, with a 1.1 per cent positivity rate, from 0.8 per cent, in the previous 14 days. The district also saw a rise in the diagnosis rate, from 672.8, to 871.2 per 100,000 people.

Paphos’ positivity rate also rose to 1.1 per cent, from 0.9, along with its diagnosis rate., 772.5 versus 627.9 per 100,000 people previously.

Meanwhile, the reproduction number (R), the number that reflects the infectious potential of a disease, is at 1.22.

Despite the spread of the virus in the community, fewer elderly people appear to get infected, which is “the result of higher vaccination coverage in this age group,” the ministry said.

“The data confirms studies and information from other countries that vaccination, combined with adherence to health protocols, protects against the disease and reduces the risk of serious illness and hospitalisation,” the report added.

A total of 3,193 people were hospitalised for coronavirus as of April 28, translating to 5.3 per cent of the cases. The median age of hospitalised patients was 62 years, while the majority, 58 per cent, were men.

Of them, 319 cases were admitted to the ICU with the median age being 68 years. Some 212 of them were male, the ministry said.

As of April 28, 39 people were being treated in the ICU, or 4.4 per cent per 100,000 population.

Latest data showed that 308 people died from coronavirus in Cyprus as of April 28, broken down to 116 in Limassol, 103 in Nicosia, 50 in Larnaca, 22 in Paphos, 14 in Famagusta and three without any details provided.

Men attributed for 202 of the deaths while almost half, 106, women died form coronavirus so far.