Coronavirus: Patient numbers at Famagusta Hospital drop

The number of patients at the Famagusta reference hospital for coronavirus has dropped to about 36 per cent of capacity due to increased vaccinations, its director Amalia Hadjiyianni said on Tuesday.

The drop followed a high number of admissions last month with the hospital nearing its full capacity.

“The noticeable reduction of hospital admissions and cases is due to the vaccinations,” Hadjiyianni told the CyBC, and urged people to receive a coronavirus vaccine.

According to the director, the median age of patients is 65, with the younger patients being 33-year-old and the eldest aged 91.

The elderly people who are currently treated at the hospital with coronavirus concern some who chose not to receive the jab, or those who were vaccinated recently, hence failed to build the necessary immunity to the virus, Hadjiyianni explained.

Health Minister Constantinos Ioanou confirmed the decreased hospital admissions across the island in a press conference about the national vaccination plan also held on Tuesday.

“The percentage of cases is extremely low in people aged 70 and above with the vaccination coverage at 85 per cent,” the minister said.

He reiterated that the country has the second lowest death rate from Covid-19 in the EU, counting 347 deaths since the pandemic outbreak.

To manage the pandemic, Cyprus entered a third nationwide lockdown for two weeks starting April 26.