Coronavirus: Two die as case numbers surge past 1,000 (updated)

The health ministry on Tuesday announced that two people died of Covid-19, while daily recorded coronavirus cases reached 1,081.

The deaths concerned two men. The first, aged 86, passed away at Larnaca hospital while the second, aged 77, died after being treated at the Nicosia general hospital ICU.

This brings the death toll to 382, of whom 256 were men and 126 women.

There are currently 159 coronavirus patients in hospitals, 41 of whom are in serious condition. Of the 41 patients, 18 are intubated, one is in ICU but not on a ventilator and 22 are in a high dependency unit.

A total of 62,898 PCR and rapid antigen tests were carried with the 1,081 cases representing a positivity rate of 1.72 per cent.

The total number of positives to date is 86,185.

Of the 62,898 tests, 7,589 were PCR and 55,309 rapid tests.

The majority, 667 of the 1,081 cases, came from rapid tests at health ministry testing sites, with 96 more cases found out of 2,427 rapid tests performed at private labs and pharmacies.

Two hundred and sixteen cases came from 4,229 samples taken through private initiative, while 610 samples taken through contacts of already confirmed cases yielded 77 positives.

Nine positives came from 195 samples processed by hospital labs, while 380 samples taken through GP referrals yielded five positives.

In addition, 2,175 samples were taken at airports with 11 positives.

In rapid tests at government testing sites 215 cases were detected from 18,050 tests in Nicosia (1.19 per cent positivity rate), 239 in Limassol from 13,252 tests (1.80 per cent positivity rate), 77 in Larnaca among 7,252 test (1.06 per cent positivity rate), 66 from 7,134 tests in Paphos (0.93 per cent positivity rate) and 70 in Famagusta from 5,885 tests (1.19 per cent positivity rate).