No deaths from Covid-19 were recorded in the past 24 hours but the number of infections jumped to 475 after 61,720 tests, a positivity rate of 0.77 per cent.

Eighty-five people with Covid are being treated in hospital, 36 in serious or critical condition. Around 63.5 per cent of those hospitalised with the virus are not vaccinated.

The number of deaths since the pandemic started in March last year is 589. Recorded infections during the same period have reached 129,633.

Of the 36 people in serious or critical condition, 15 are intubated, two were in an ICU but off the ventilator, and 19 in high dependency units.

Three post-Covid patients continue to be intubated.

Of the 475 new cases, 110 were close contacts of previously confirmed infections detected in 1,064 samples.

The ministry said 197 infections were reported by private labs and pharmacies after testing 33,422 samples with rapid antigen tests. A further 100 cases were reported by units taking part in the state mass screening programme. Those cases were among 23,551 samples tested.

Two cases were among 1,372 samples tested at the two airports and 58 were detected in 1,827 samples that were privately tested.

Turkish Cypriots reported one dead on Friday and 252 new cases following 19,816 tests.

Ninety-four people have died in the north since March last year with recorded infections reaching 25,764.