Coronavirus: Two deaths, 3,396 new cases

Two deaths from the coronavirus and 3, 396 new cases were announced on Monday out of 137,680 PCR and rapid tests, a positivity rate of 2.47 per cent.

The deaths were of a man aged 86, who died at Famagusta general hospital and a woman aged 77 who died at the ICU of the Nicosia general hospital. Both died on Monday.

The ministry added there are 204 patients in hospital with the virus of whom 65 are in serious condition. Of them, 31 are intubated, four are treated in the ICU but not on a ventilator and 30 in the high dependency unit.

The new cases emerged from 130,655 rapid tests and 7,025 PCR tests.

Most, 1,853, were detected after 68,222 rapid tests carried out at private pharmacies and labs while another 1,096 cases were detected from 62,433 samples taken at the health ministry’s rapid testing sites.

Some 307 cases were detected from 2,275 tests taken following a private initiative, 54 cases were detected from 3,911 tests at the airports, 42 after 332 tests at the labs of state hospitals and 38 from 247 tests for contact tracing purposes.

Six more cases were detected after 258 tests carried out after a doctor’s referral.

Of the new cases detected at the health ministry’s testing sites, 49 concerned nursing homes, including 26 in Limassol, the ministry’s announcement showed.

Since the pandemic outbreak, the government-controlled areas recorded 256,746 coronavirus cases, of whom 733 died, the majority of whom, 458, were men.

In the north, two deaths and 508 new cases were recorded after 21,978 tests on Monday.