Cyprus announces 20 new Covid-19 confirmed cases

Cyprus’ health authorities announced on Wednesday 20 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections bringing the total tally to 715.

Following 1,758 samples tested today, in the context of a government targeted testing of 20,000 professionals, three people who contracted the virus were diagnosed, Dr. Leontios Kostrikis, member of the Advisory Body on the pandemic, told a press conference, at the Ministry of Health.

According to Kostrikis, out of 393 laboratory tests in the context of tracing the contacts of previously confirmed cases eight people tested positive.

At the same time, he announced that from a total of 141 tests conducted on people repatriated to Cyprus on board flights from London and Bulgaria on Monday, April 13, seven people tested positive. All seven had been on board the flight from London. In total the people who tested positive from that flight out of a total of 107 tests were eight, including one person announced yesterday, he said.

Another two people tested positive, from 14 tests conducted privately.

On the basis of today’s results, the total number of positive cases has reached 715, including the ten people who tested positive from the British Bases, he said.

Professor Kostrikis also informed that a total of 3,034 laboratory diagnostic tests had been completed at 1600 hours local time (1300 GMT) in the context of a mass testing drive funded by the government for 20,000 professionals from the public and private sectors the implementation of which started on Saturday, April 11.

“The results of the last 24 hours fall within the scientific team’s projections and in line with the epidemiological and statistical picture we have before us,” he said.

He added that 20 confirmed cases out of a total of 2,312 tests is “undoubtedly a very good number,” noting however that "this does not mean that we should diverge from our course.”

On his part, Dr. Marios Loizou, Scientific Director at the Nicosia Directorate of the Cyprus State Health Services Organisation said that until 15:00 local time 24 persons are being hospitalized in the Famagusta General Hospital, designated as the Covid-19 reference hospital of Cyprus, with three in the increased care unit, while two persons have exited the hospital.

By 1900 hours a total of four people had been released from the hospital. Two were transported to a rehabilitation center in Tersefanou village, Larnaka, which now hosts 21 people recovering from the virus and two were transported to their homes where they will stay in self- isolation for 14 days.

Loizou added that nine patients are connected to a respirator, three in the Limassol General Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and six in the Nicosia General Hospital ICU, while three persons have been disconnected but remain in intensive care in the Nicosia General Hospital.

“The clinical state of all patients in the ICUs is for the time critical but stable,” he noted.

An additional four persons who have contracted the virus are hospitalized in public hospitals other than the reference hospital, he added.

Loizou also spoke of a “massive effort to shield and prepare Cyprus’ health system” which started as soon as the crisis appeared.

We were aware of our public hospitals’ weaknesses, he said, but we also knew of their capabilities, adding that now is not the time to go into more detail regarding the first. “We asked for time and you gave it to us. We were able to cope,” he pointed out.

He also noted, among other things, that the right decisions were made in a timely manner, that the majority health professionals have been working to their limits for one and a half months now, adding that “our capability to meet demand is directly linked with having sufficient staff in the departments on the basis of new realities.”

In the meantime, in an introductory statement, Margarita Kyriacou, press officer at the Ministry of Health specified that mandatory testing announced earlier today by the government concerns workers who work in the supply chain of retail shops trading in food and beverage, namely those preparing and delivering food and beverages as well as those working in customer service areas. It also concerns employees of homes for the elderly or other facilities which offer care to elderly people.

These categories of employees will have 14 days to be tested either as part of the 20,000-mass testing drive funded by the government or privately. A maximum amount of €110 has been set for the private testing, which she clarified will not be paid by employees but by their employers. She also said the Ministry had increased the percentage of employees of retail businesses entitled the free test from clinical laboratories to 30% instead of 25%.