Confirmed coronavirus cases rise to 64 in Republic of Cyprus

Nine more people tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, the Health Ministry confirmed, raising the total to 64 in the Republic of Cyprus, 37 of which were infected after close contact with confirmed cases.

Islandwide, including three confirmed cases in the British Bases and 20 in the north, the total figure was at 87 by Thursday evening.

The nine new cases that had tested positive in tests conducted by the Institute of Neurology and Genetics in Nicosia involved:

• Six people who had come in contact with other confirmed cases. four of which were among the samples taken from the Paphos General Hospital staff. Specifically, one of the new confirmed cases is a Paphos General Hospital nurse, two patients being treated at the Paphos hospital, and a doctor of a private hospital in Paphos, whose wife is a nurse at the Paphos General who had already tested positive for the virus.
• Three people who had travelled abroad, specifically to Bulgaria, Italy, and the UK. All three had remained in isolation as per the instructions applying to all arrivals to the island and had contact the health services upon developing symptoms.

The Health Ministry’s Epidemiological Surveillance Unit has already began tracing the contacts of the new confirmed cases.