The health ministry announced 489 new Covid cases on Thursday from a total of 74,277 tests, representing a positivity rate of 0.66 per cent.

No new fatalities were reported, with the death toll standing at 590.

Hospitalisations remained elevated, with the number of Covid-19 patients reaching 110. Of these, 42 were in a serious condition: 17 intubated, two in ICU but off the ventilator, and 23 in high-dependency units.

In addition, three post-Covid patients continued to be intubated in ICU.

The ministry reported that 60 per cent of patients did not have a vaccination record.

The latest 489 positives came from 74,277 tests, of which 4,308 were done with PCR.

The positives were found among: 88 from 986 samples via contact tracing; six from 992 samples taken at the airports; 86 from 1,953 samples taken by private initiative; 11 from 277 samples processed by the microbiology laboratories at the general hospitals; 202 from 43,864 samples (antigen rapid tests) processed at private clinical labs and pharmacies; 95 from 26,105 samples as part of the government’s free screening programme; and one from 100 samples from doctors’ referrals.

No positives were detected from testing at nursing homes in the Nicosia and Limassol districts. Thirty-eight positives were tracked from 16,847 tests in primary and secondary schools.

In the north two deaths were recorded on Thursday as well as 297 new cases from 16,228 tests.