Coronavirus: Near to zero infections soon, says expert

The sixth wave of the pandemic, that recorded the island’s highest positivity rate, is now on the decline, experts said on Saturday.

In the next two or three weeks there would be few or near to zero infections, estimated the professor of biological sciences Leontios Kostrikis in his statements to Trito radio.

According to the head of the University of Cyprus’ laboratory of molecular virology, the prevailing view that there will be a new wave of the pandemic in the autumn is wrong, he said, citing a study which showed the increase in cases is due to new variants and not on the season.

Seasonality helps accelerate the transmission of the coronavirus, the professor said, explaining however, that the number of cases is not as important as those hospitalised due to the coronavirus.

Echoing his statements, government’s coronavirus advisor Dr Zoe-Dorothea Pana said that the declining trend of the pandemic will continue if no new variants emerge in the coming period.

This is partly thanks to the reintroduction of the face mask in most indoor areas, Pana said, noting that the epidemiological picture cannot be attributed to a single measure alone.

The weekly number of coronavirus cases recorded a 34 per cent decrease, dropping from 15,386 to 10,152 infections in the latest health ministry report published Friday.