Coronavirus: Infections rise, hospital admissions down

More Covid-19 cases have been detected across all ages and districts, but hospital indicators show a downward trend so far, the biweekly epidemiological report by the health ministry showed Friday.

In the last 14 days since March 1, a total of 33,488 coronavirus cases have been reported out of 49,534 PCR and 1,208,489 rapid tests. The 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate is 3,771.2 per 100,000 population.

This is slightly higher than the previous period when 27,674 cases were diagnosed from 94,921 PCR and 1,347,575 rapid tests, but lower than last month when the 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate was over 4056.1 per 100,000 residents.

“The new upward trend in diagnoses is recorded in all age groups and in all districts,” a health ministry spokesperson said, adding that fewer hospitalisations have been recorded so far.

According to the report, almost one third of the cases detected in the last 14 days concerned children and teenagers up to the age of 19. The majority, 57.9 per cent, belonged to the 20 to 59 age group while just over 10 per cent of the cases concerned people aged 60 and older.

As of March 16, 100 people were treated at state hospitals with the virus with a median age of 73 years. Five were intubated in ICUs.

District information was available for 80.3 per cent of the cases. Of these, 36 per cent were detected in Limassol followed by Nicosia with 31.7 per cent, 14.6 per cent in Larnaca, 13 per cent in Paphos, 4.5 per cent in Famagusta while 45 cases had a residence abroad.

Only 2.4 per cent of the cases where information was available were imported with the remaining 32,544 being locally acquired.

The report added that a total of 904 people died from coronavirus in the government-controlled areas since the pandemic outbreak. More men have died than women, the report showed, as 550 of the deaths concerned males.

Half of the deaths concerned people aged 69 to 86. Just five concerned people under 34.

Some 8.7 per cent of people who died had received the booster jab and over 15 per cent had been fully vaccinated. About 28 per cent had received only the first dose while the majority, almost 82 per cent, were unvaccinated.

Limassol saw the higher percentage of Covid fatalities accounting for 35.7 per cent of deaths, followed by Nicosia with 30.6 per cent, Larnaca with 18.1 per cent, Paphos with 9.1 per cent and Famagusta with 5.8 per cent.

Four people who died had a residence abroad while no information was available for another two, the report added.