Coronavirus: Woman, 56, dies, 1,120 new cases (updated)

The health ministry announced the death of a 56-year-old woman from Covid-19 on Wednesday, as infections reached a record high of 1,120 after 62,656 tests, a positivity rate of 1.79 per cent.

The number of hospitalised Covid patients also rose, according to the ministry statement. It said 165 people were hospitalised with 40 in serious or critical condition.

The number of people who died from the virus so far reached 383 – 256 men and 127 women. The average age is 77.2 years.

Of the 40 people in serious or critical condition, 16 are on a ventilator, two were being treated in the ICU, and 22 in high dependency units.

The ministry said 6,136 PCR and 56,520 rapid antigen tests had been carried out in the past 24 hours. The total number of recorded cases since March last year reached 87,305.

Of the 1,120 infections, 169 were close contacts of previously confirmed cases detected among 1,132 samples.

Six cases were reported at the Republic’s two airports after 1,654 passenger tests.

The ministry said 210 cases were detected among 2,686 samples tested privately while 20 cases were reported by state hospital labs after 439 tests.

Two cases were among 225 samples from people referred by GPs and 42 were detected in 1,091 samples tested via rapid antigen by private labs and pharmacies.

As part of the state’s mass screening programme, 671 infections were reported in 55,429 tests.

The highest positivity rate was reported in Limassol, 1.58 per cent, after 211 cases were detected in 13,356 tests.

In Nicosia there were 207 infections among 20,064 samples, 1.03 per cent, while Larnaca reported 119 cases in 8,896 tests, a positivity rate of 1.34 per cent. Paphos had 65 cases in 6,977 tests, 0.95 per cent, and Famagusta 69 in 5,376, a positivity rate of 1.28 per cent