Coronavirus report shows Nicosia, Larnaca situation deteriorating

A new national surveillance report published and presented on Friday by the government’s health advisory committee showed Limassol and Paphos are making epidemiological progress, but Nicosia and Larnaca are presenting higher rates of coronavirus transmission.

The report dealt with the island’s epidemiological situation until November 16, by which date the Republic of Cyprus had recorded a total of 7,314 coronavirus cases and a case fatality rate of 0.5%.

Over the course of two weeks, from November 3 to 16, a total of 2,366 cases were detected, 85.5% of which were locally-acquired and 6.6% were imported. The 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate was 270.1 per 100,000 population.

By age group, 365 (15.4%) were infants, children and adolescents aged 0-17 years-old, 1,619 (68.5%) were adults aged 18-59 years, 372 (15.7%) were persons aged 60 years and older. The average age of cases diagnosed over that two-week period was 36 years, while the average age of cases detected among people aged over 18 was 40 years old.

By place of exposure, 1,234 (52%) of the cases detected in the two-week period were reported in the Limassol district, 557 (23.5%) in Nicosia, 247 (10.4%) in Larnaca, 159 (6.7%) in Paphos, 114 (4.8%) in Famagusta, and 59 (2.5%) were reported either in the British bases or had a residence abroad, or information was not available.

Of the 2,366 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19-cases, clinical information was available for 93.5% (2,213), of which 33% (730) reported no symptoms at diagnosis and 67% (1,483) reported at least one symptom.

Information on comorbidities was available for 2,212 (93.5%) cases. Of these, 571 (25.8%) reported at least one comorbidity.

On November 17, 80 people of an average age of 72 years were receiving hospital treatment.

By November 16, a total of 538,382 coronavirus tests had been performed in the Republic of Cyprus, corresponding to 61,466.1 tests per 100,000 population. 

Among cases diagnosed until November 16, 40 coronavirus-associated deaths were reported in Cyprus, with the Case Fatality Risk (CFR) standing at 0.5%. The COVID-19 associated mortality is 4.6 per 100,000 population.

Twenty-four deaths (60%) involved men and 16 (40%) were women; the median age of all deaths was 76.5 years. Fifteen deaths involved residents in Limassol, nine in Larnaca, eight in Pafos, six in Nicosia, and two in Famagusta. The median time from date of sampling to death (due to COVID-19) was 11 days. 

By November 17, 28.3% (2,055) of coronavirus cases detected had recovered. The average time between the second negative result and the first date of sampling was 19 days.