The health ministry announced that two people had died of Covid-19 and that 311 more had tested positive from 51,499 PCR and rapid tests, a positivity rate of 0.6 per cent.

The deaths concerned a man aged 81 who died on Friday and a woman aged 57 who died on Thursday.

Total deaths stand at 477, of which 307 were men and 170 women with an average age of 77.

There are 194 people in hospitals of whom 70 are in serious condition. Of these, 37 are intubated.

The ministry said that the percentage of unvaccinated patients was 82.48 per cent.

Of the 51,499 tests on Saturday, 7,368 were PCR and 44,131 were antigen rapid tests, resulting in 311 people testing positive as follows:

  • 32 from 334 samples taken through contact tracing
  • 6 from 3,457 tests done at the airports
  • 54 from 3,315 samples taken through private initiative.
  • 4 from 125 samples processed at hospital labs
  • 142 from 29,577 tests done at private labs and pharmacies
  • 73 from 14,554 samples taken under the ministry’s free testing programme for special categories

Under the free screening, in Nicosia there were 28 positives from 5,966 tests, in Limassol 18 from 3,591 tests, Larnaca five from 1,640 tests, Paphos five from 1,277 tests and in the Famagusta area five from 1,294 tests.

There was one positive in a Limassol care home from a total of 84 tests in care homes, and 11 positives found in closed structures from 167 tests.