Coronavirus: one death, 276 new cases announced on Monday (updated)

The health ministry on Monday announced one death from Covid-19 and 276 new infections after 83,418 tests, a positivity rate of 0.33 per cent.

The ministry said 207 people were being treated for the virus in hospital, 64 in serious or critical condition.

The number of deaths from Covid since March 2020 has reached 337 while recorded cases stood at 69,708.

Monday’s death concerns an 84-year-old man the ministry said. So far, Covid has claimed the lives of 222 men and 115 women. The average age is 78.

The ministry said it would no longer provide patient details, including whether they had been vaccinated, citing personal data.

The ministry said detailed information regarding vaccination dates, admission to hospital, or whether they had fallen ill before the vaccination and if they had not yet developed antibodies against the virus, raised doubt on the efficacy of the vaccines and made people hesitant.

Of the 64 people in serious or critical condition, 31 were intubated, three were being treated in the ICU without intubation, and 30 in high dependency units.

The ministry said 8,373 of the 83,418 tests were PCR.

Of the 276 new cases, 51 concerned close contacts detected among 992 samples.

Twelve cases were found among 5,195 samples tested at the two airports, the ministry said.

Private labs reported 30 cases in 1,564 tests, while state hospital labs reported 13 in 476.

An additional 23 cases were detected by private labs and pharmacies using rapid antigen testing to check 2,265 samples.

Units carrying out mass testing across the Republic reported 147 cases in 72,780 samples.

Fifty-two cases were reported in Nicosia after 27,987 tests, a positivity rate of 0.19 per cent; Limassol reported 49 cases in 19,016 samples, a rate of 0.26 per cent; Twenty-six cases were found in Larnaca after 11,632 tests, 0.22 per cent, six in Paphos after 6,059 tests, 0.10 per cent, and five in Famagusta after 4,488 tests, a positivity rate of 0.11 per cent.

One case was also detected in a Nicosia care home among 288 samples, four in the Strovolos industrial estate after 780 tests, and four in the Limassol industrial estate after 701 tests.