'Picture remains positive' as just two new cases emerge

Just two new coronavirus cases were announced during the Health Ministry’s briefing on Tuesday, with total confirmed cases in the Republic reaching 903.

A 72-year-old woman who carried the virus died on Tuesday, but experts said her death was not attributed to coronavirus but to underlying health conditions. Coronavirus-related deaths in the Republic therefore remained stable at 16, with fatalities aged on average 71 years old.

Meanwhile, the north appears to be fully recovering from its coronavirus outbreak, as total cases have remained at 108 since April 17, while the last patient being treated for coronavirus in a hospital in the north was discharged on Tuesday.

While the Republic is also inching toward zero cases, there still appear to be sources of infection at large.

Tuesday’s new cases involve two people who took the initiative to get tested for the virus.

On Tuesday, a bulk of 1,153 lab tests for the virus were conducted islandwide.

According to Dr Marios Loizou, the scientific director of the state health services organization, the key to recovering from the pandemic is a steady relaxation of restriction measures over a large period of time, accompanied by an aggressive policy of testing among the population.

Dr Loizou said that it is natural that new cases will emerge when such a large number of mass tests are being conducted.

“During recent weeks a steady decrease of confirmed cases has been observed,” Dr Loizou said, adding that “the picture, despite any small fluctuations, remains positive.”