111 new cases as hospitalized patients hit record high

New coronavirus cases in Cyprus remained at the three-digit level on Monday, when 111 new cases were detected after 2,111 tests were conducted, raising the total to 6,098.

The health ministry raised the alarm over the new record in hospitalized coronavirus patients, that reached 85 on Monday. The Famagusta general hospital is treating 68 coronavirus patients, five of which are in the ICU. An additional seven coronavirus patients are receiving treatment at the Nicosia general hospital ICU, of which just one is not intubated, while 10 more are being treated at the hospital’s coronavirus ward.

From the total samples collected, 968 were collected at Cyprus airports, where nine new cases were detected. As such, the remaining 102 cases were detected locally and emerged from among just 1,143 samples, indicating that one in 11 tested positive.

From the 336 samples collected through contact tracing, 42 new cases emerged, meaning one in eight tested positive.

Another 39 cases involved people who took the initiative to get tested, while 15 involved people who got tested at general hospitals.

An additional six new cases involved people who were either part of special health groups or who were referred for testing by their GP.

Health minister Constantinos Ioannou took to twitter on Monday night, to say that “times are hard, we’re doing everything humanely possible to address the danger. Our priority remains the protection of public health.”