Approximately 1,000 Covid cases recorded weekly in Cyprus

Around 1,000 new Covid cases per week are still being recorded in Cyprus, the health ministry said on Friday.

The director of medical services at the ministry of health, Elisavet Constantinou, told the Cyprus News Agency that the new coronavirus variant Eris was not of particular concern. She said there did not appear to be any increase in cases.

“There is a stability in the number of cases,” she said, adding that on average it’s around 1,000 per week.

Constantinou said that with the end of the pandemic, the health ministry no longer conducts random sample checks though they still monitor the numbers.

In relation to cases of Eris which have been detected in Cyprus, Constantinou said the variant accounts for around five per cent of positive cases.

Asked if there were reasons for concern for the Autumn, in view of the return of children to schools, Constantinou said that what has been observed in other countries is the rapid transmission of this new variant. Cyprus expects the same, she added.

“The ECDC doesn’t seem to be particularly concerned about this variant of Covid,” said Constantinou, adding that so far, the data shows that while it will likely become the prevalent strain, it does not appear to change the clinical picture.

She said that the number of new hospital admissions was down considerably compared to the previous week. According to official data for the week of August 4 to 10, there were 28 new admissions. The previous week, there were 49. Admissions to ICU during the week were zero.

One officials and scientific experts return from holidays, the ministry is likely to hold a wide meeting to look ahead to the Autumn season.

“We will have to consider and take into account all the facts before us but at the moment there is no cause for concern,” Constantinou said.