Cyprus faces setback with new cases

Cyprus failed to remain on a zero streak after eight new confirmed coronavirus cases were announced on Sunday.

Just one day after officials said zero cases had been detected across the island on Saturday, the Cyprus News Agency reported that eight new infections were announced on Sunday in the Republic of Cyprus out of a total of 1953 tests.

Officials said seven of the positive cases involved people who have been repatriated, out of 365 samples in that category, while the other infected person was one of 142 who tested positive after being selected through the contact tracing method.

While the numbers remained very low, the new cases were detected just one day after no new infections of the coronavirus were announced in the south for the first time since the start of the outbreak in early March.

Health experts previously said they wanted to see zero cases back to back for a number of days before they could feel confident about a general pattern that would pose little risk to public health. 

As of Sunday, the total number of confirmed cases in the south came to 923, 108 in the north, and 12 on British Bases. Nine patients remained hospitalized in the south, two of whom were said to be on ventilators.