Medical authorities scramble to stay afloat in coronavirus outbreak turmoil

A 47-year-old confirmed coronavirus carrier who developed respiratory distress syndrome while under the watch of Famagusta General Hospital medics will be transferred to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Limassol General.

Intensive care specialists of the Limassol General Hospital instructed that a 47-year-old who tested positive for the virus and whose condition began deteriorating on Tuesday is transferred via a specialized ambulance from Famagusta to the Limassol hospital.

Meanwhile, reports said that efforts are being made to boost the medical staff of the Famagusta General with four additional pathologists, five cardiologists, two pulmonologists, and one infectious disease specialist.

Some 700 Paphos General staff to undergo coronavirus testing after 11 test positive

The Paphos General Hospital remained in lockdown on Tuesday after 11 people (one ICU doctor, eight ICU nurses, one 70-year-old patient being treated in the ICU and one cleaner) tested positive for the virus on Monday.

The 11 tested positive after a 65-year-old foreign national being hospitalized in the Paphos General ICU was confirmed as a coronavirus carrier on Sunday.

The 70-year-old patient who tested positive on Monday remained in the Paphos General ICU, while it is still unclear whether he will be transferred to the General Hospital of Limassol or Famagusta.

On Tuesday, 50 additional samples were taken from Paphos General Hospital staff and patients.

The State Health Services said the entirety of the hospital staff, some 700 people, will be tested for the virus in the coming days.

Only the Accident and Emergency Department and the Hemodialysis Unit remained operational on Tuesday as the premises continued to be disinfected with hundreds of Hospital staff on edge pending the results of the lab tests.

The 11 confirmed cases that emerged on Monday were only from the first batch of samples sent to the Institute of Neurology and Genetics in Nicosia, leaving the Paphos General enveloped in a climate of heightened concern over the results that the remaining batches may bring.

The Health Ministry’s Epidemiological Surveillance Unit has already launched efforts to track down the contacts of the 11 confirmed cases.

Medical staff of the Paphos General who had close contact with the elderly patient, a UK national, who tested positive for the virus were placed in mandatory isolation with instructions to self-monitor their health. 

Across the board ban of hospital visitations

The government continued to step up emergency measures on Tuesday in a bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak on the island which has so far seen 46 infected in the south, seven in the north, and two in the British Bases.

As of Wednesday, the Health Ministry said that visitations of patients at all hospitals across the country, both private and public, will be banned.

A relevant degree is expected to be issued later on Tuesday by the Health Minister.

At the same time, and on the basis of a decree issued by the Health Minister on March 15, all schedules surgeries and hospital admissions given those scheduled to be admitted into hospital are not in a life threatening condition – have been suspended until March 31.