Cyprus detects two more cases of monkeypox

Two more cases of monkeypox have been detected in the Republic of Cyprus, bringing the total of known infected patients to three males who all traveled abroad.

According to the health ministry, two men aged 20 and 30 tested positive for the monkeypox, with officials announcing on Saturday that close contacts were being traced.

The two men, who had recently traveled abroad, were transported to Nicosia General Hospital, where another 40-year-old male, also with travel history, was being treated for the illness.

Cypriot health officials said 1260 doses of the monkeypox vaccine were expected to arrive on Saturday morning on a flight landing at Larnaca International Airport after 10am.

Reports said Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela and EU health commissioner Stella Kyriakides coordinated their efforts to bring jabs faster to Cyprus.

The first delivery of vaccines for the monkeypox virus had been scheduled to arrive by end of August, prompting the mother of the 40-year-old patient to criticize the government and call for an expedited process.