Coronavirus numbers fly off the charts again

The number of new coronavirus cases flew off the charts again on Tuesday, when health authorities announced that 152 new cases emerged among a bulk of 4,410 tests.

The majority, or 99, of Tuesday’s cases were detected among the 2,360 samples collected from people who took the initiative to get tested, 23 were detected among the 305 samples collected through contact tracing efforts, two new cases emerged among the 929 samples collected from arrivals at Cyprus airports, 10 emerged from among the 212 samples collected at general hospitals, while 18 new cases emerged among the 341 samples collected at public health clinics.

According to the health ministry’s announcement, among the 18 who tested positive after getting tested at public health clinics, 16 were referred for testing by their GP after developing symptoms, while two got tested prior to having surgery.

Additionally, the ministry said that over 70% of those who tested positive after taking the test at their own initiative had symptoms, and many are contacts of other known cases and are in isolation.

The ministry stressed that the surge in symptomatic cases is inevitably contributing to larger numbers of coronavirus patients requiring hospital treatment and even ICU services. It noted that the number is already steep, and is expected to get steeper over the coming days.

Specifically, the Famagusta general hospital is currently treating 20 coronavirus patients, of which one is in the ICU. Two more coronavirus patients are intubated at the Nicosia general hospital ICU, while two more are receiving treatment at a general ward there.