Cyprus’ daily count surpasses 200

Newly detected coronavirus infections in the Republic of Cyprus reached a whopping 202 on Saturday, the highest daily count ever recorded on the island since the outbreak of the pandemic, with additional measures being rolled out on Sunday starting with Limassol.

According to local media, the new cases were detected out of a total of 4966 lab tests, while more than half of those who tested positive gave samples through private initiative.

Officials have been scrambling to manage a new spike on the island, with 70% of confirmed cases in the last few days taking place in Limassol, where additional measures were set to go into effect on Sunday.

New general measures include 10-person limits in public eatery establishments, 75-person limits on worship locations, no spectators for matches in Nicosia and Limassol, as well as 75 and 150 person limits for catering indoors and outdoors respectively in the two towns. 

According to the Cyprus News Agency, additional measures in the southern town are expected to last for two weeks in an attempt to contain further spread of COVID-19, including food service establishments closing at 10:30pm and citizens being advised to limit their movement until 11:30pm.

Decrees on other measures affecting all districts could be issued without delay, with local media saying mini lockdowns were essentially in the works not just in Limassol.

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou also called on infected carriers, asking them to get in touch with their close contacts and inform them that their names have been shared with authorities.

“They ought to tell them to remain in self-isolation until a member of the public health team gets in touch with them to arrange a sample for a lab test,” Ioannou said.

But the minister also said if any close contact of a confirmed carrier begins to show any symptoms, he or she ought to contact their personal doctor and state explicitly that they have come into contact with a known carrier.