Coronavirus: no new deaths, 529 people test positive on Friday (Updated)

The health ministry announced 529 cases of Covid-19 and no deaths on Friday.

There are 54 coronavirus patients in hospitals, of whom 20 are in serious condition. Of the 20 patients, seven are intubated, three are in ICU and 10 in the High Dependency Unit.

A total of 45,212 PCR and rapid antigen tests were carried out today, with 529 cases and a positivity rate of 1.17 per cent.

The total number of positives to date is 76,862.

Of the 45,212 tests, 6,531 were PCR and 38,681 rapid tests.

The majority, 423 of the 529 cases came from rapid testing performed at health ministry testing sites, with 18 more cases found out of 561 rapid tests performed at private labs and pharmacies.

Sixty-five cases came from 3,203 samples taken through private initiative, while 232 samples samples processed by hospital labs yielded 14 positives.

In addition, 3,096 samples were taken at airports with nine positives.

The ministry did not include cases from GP referrals or found through contact tracing.

Some 171 cases were detected through rapid testing in Nicosia (1.11 per cent positivity rate), 84 in Limassol (0.89 per cent positivity rate), 75 in Larnaca (1.26 per cent positivity rate), 14 in Paphos (0.46 per cent positivity rate and 76 in Famagusta (2.66 per cent positivity rate).

As there were no deaths, the death toll remains at 378, of whom 254 were men and 124 women with an average age of 77.