Coronavirus: Eights deaths, 2449 new cases (updated)

Eight deaths from coronavirus, three of them from previous days, and 2,449 new infections were reported on Wednesday out of 92,276 PCR and rapid tests, a positivity rate of 2.71 per cent.

The ministry said there were 224 people in hospital with the virus of whom 75 are in serious condition, 34 of them are intubated and four in the ICU but not on the ventilator. Of those hospitalized, 75 per cent do not have a vaccination history. There are also 19 post Covid patients intubated in ICUs.

The eight deaths reported on Wednesday bring the total since the start of the pandemic to 724. The average age is 76.2

Three deaths are from previous days and concern a man aged 72 who died in the ICU of Nicosia hospital on January 23 and two women aged 88 and 91 who died at Limassol Hospital on January 25.

The ministry also announced the death of four women and one man which occurred on Wednesday.

The man, aged 86, died at Famagusta General Hospital as did a woman aged 81. An 83-year-old woman died at Larnaca Hospital while a woman aged 85 died at Nicosia General Hospital. The eighth death was of a woman aged 64 who died in the ICU of Nicosia General Hospital.

Of the 2449 new infections announced on Wednesday, 64 were from 411 tests from contact tracing, 21 from 921 tests on arriving passengers at Larnaca and Paphos airports, and 360 from 3343 private initiative tests.

Another 45 infections were recorded from 279 tests at hospital labs, 1158 from 47,918 rapid tests at private labs and pharmacies and 837 from 39,168 rapid tests from the health ministry’s programme. And 14 infections were reported from 234 tests following referrals from personal doctors and checks on special groups through public health centres.

From the health ministry’s rapid test programme, 61 cases were reported in care homes and 51 in secondary schools. In addition, there were 19 cases from 1297 tests from the newly-introduced test to stay programme.