Coronavirus: ‘Great concern’ over increase in cases

The health ministry on Friday expressed “great concern” over the increase in coronavirus cases among young people who have “intense social activity” and reiterated calls for the public to get vaccinated.

Explaining the surge in coronavirus cases with the daily tally returning to triple-digits – there were 175 cases on Thursday –  the ministry said that a portion of people have stopped abiding by the health measures, due to pandemic fatigue, resulting to the creation of clusters.

It added that many people who test positive fail to cooperate with the contact tracing team and do not declare their contacts, the ministry’s announcement added.

Meanwhile, experts have warned over the outbreak of another Covid wave.

The ministry said the majority of the new cases did not complete their vaccination, while almost half are people under 40.

According to contact tracing data, seven per cent of the cases had completed their vaccination, while 45 per cent of those who tested positive belong to the 18 to 39 age group.

The analysis of urban wastewater samples in Limassol and Larnaca showed that there were concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA fragments, having increased again after the low concentrations recorded in early June, the ministry said.

The analysis is ongoing to draw safe conclusions about specific variants of the virus found in the effluent, with the possibility of the existence of the Indian variant being high.

The ministry recommended to people to get vaccinated, to avoid “the rapid spread of the “Delta” variant, which poses a double risk of transmission, infection and hospitalisation”.

“Complacency leads to a worsening of epidemiological indicators with negative effects on the economy, tourism and business,” the ministry said.