Cyprus adds another coronavirus death

Another coronavirus-linked death was recorded in the Republic of Cyprus on Sunday, raising the Covid-19 death toll to 26 across the divided island with new infections continuing to pop up in the south.

According to the Cyprus News Agency, a 73-year-old woman who was hospitalized with underlying medical conditions at Nicosia General Hospital died in the Intensive Care Unit on Sunday, after being infected with the COVID-19 disease.

The woman’s official cause of death was the novel coronavirus. Authorities in the Republic recorded a total of 16 coronavirus-linked fatalities while 6 others who passed away were also infected with Covid-19.

In the north, Turkish Cypriot officials said there have been no new confirmed cases of the coronavirus, while four fatalities linked to the disease were previously recorded.

In the south, six new cases tested positive to positive to the novel coronavirus, also known as SARS-CoV-2 virus, out of a total of 1393 lab tests.

So far, the number of confirmed cases in Cyprus reached 902, with 888 in the south, 4 in the north, and 10 on the island’s British Bases.

According to a CNA breakdown, two of the six new confirmed cases came from 232 tests carried out on a private initiative. The remaining four cases emerged out of 93 tests from special groups through public health clinics.

CNA also reported that no confirmed cases were found from 228 tests using the contact tracing method, that is, suspected cases in contact with people who have been found positive. Also, nobody tested positive out of 229 tests in general hospitals running their own microbiology labs.

Tests results also came back negative from 237 travelers who returned to the Republic of Cyprus as well as 374 tests on employees working in retail and construction.

The latest results were announced as Cyprus was seeing an overall downward trend on both sides of the island.

The low numbers of new cases was an essential factor in the government’s decision to allow a small resumption of the economy and a loosening of restrictions on movement, but “it would be utopian to expect zero new cases,” according to Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou

The minister warned last week that the virus would remain on the island until a vaccine is discovered, saying it would be “utopian” for people to expect to see days with zero new cases.

Ioannou also said last week that an increase in the number of coronavirus cases was unavoidable as restrictions continue to loosen, but the goal remains to keep cases as low as possible.