Newsroom
The positivity rate for Covid-19 is rising in Cyprus on a weekly basis, particularly in the Limassol district where it stands at 1.3%, according to the National Surveillance Report published Friday and containing data until March 16.
All other indexes are also on the rise, the report published by the Health Ministry showed. The 14-day cumulative diagnosis rate of COVID-19 per 100,000 people - which reflects the number of active COVID-19 cases in the population - is 529.6 per 100,000 people, situating Cyprus in the ECDC’s dark red category.
In the Limassol district, the cumulative diagnosis rate rose to 1126.5/100,000, and is five times higher than the rest of the districts in Cyprus. In particular, Famagusta stands at 229/100,000, Larnaca at 234.2/100,000, Nicosia at 324.5/100,000 and Paphos at 254.7/100,000.
Out of a total of 4,703 cases detected from March 3 to March 16, 2,797 or 59.5% were Limassol residents.
Over the two weeks from March 3 to March 16, 4,703 cases were diagnosed, with cases aged 37 years old on average. A total of 43,419 PCR and 557,223 rapid antigen tests were performed during those two weeks (4,889.5 RT PCR and 62,750.3 rapid antigen tests per 100,000 people). 52.2% were females (2,455), 47.5% males (2,233), and for 15 cases (0.3%) information is not currently available.
By age group, cases included 941 infants, children and adolescents aged 0-19 years- old (20%), 3,034 adults aged 20-59 years (64.5%), 714 persons aged 60 years and older (15.2%), and for 14 cases (0.3%) information is not currently available.
By district, 2,797 (59.5%) were reported in Limassol, 1,124 (23.9%) in Nicosia, 349 (7.4%) in Larnaca, 243 (5.2%) in Paphos, 112 (2.4%) in Famagusta, and 78 (1.7%) were reported either in the British bases or had a residence abroad, or information was not available.
Of the 4,703 cases, 1.1% (53) were imported and 98.9% (4,650) were locally-acquired. 29.1% (1,367) reported no symptoms at diagnosis and 70.9% (3,336) reported at least one symptom. 1,160 cases (24.7%) reported at least one comorbidity.
According to the National Surveillance Report, until March 16, a total of 39,484 COVID-19 cases have been detected in Cyprus, of which 241 have died as a result of their infection. The island’s case fatality risk stands at 0.6%.
Deaths involved 160 men (66.4%) and 81 (33.6%) women aged 81 years on average. By district of residence, deceased cases were 87 (36.1%) from Nicosia, 78 (32.4%) from Limassol, 43 (17.8%) from Larnaca, 18 (7.5%) from Paphos, 11 (4.6%) from Famagusta, and four deaths (1.7%) occurred among cases reported either in the British bases or had a residence abroad, or information was not available.
A separate report on coronavirus fatalities showed that the highest number of deaths was recorded during December 2020 and January 2021, with 85 and 86 deaths respectively.
The National Surveillance Report showed that overall, 5.4% (2,124) of people with COVID-19 received hospital care by March 18. The median age of hospitalized patients was 65 years. Hospitalized cases were mainly males (1,230; 57.9%).
Overall, 214 cases (10.1% of all hospitalized patients) have been admitted to an ICU. The median age of patients ever admitted to ICU was 69 years. ICU patients were mainly male (149; 70%). The overall median length of stay in ICU was 13 days.
Until March 18, among cases alive, 83.8% (32,829) of COVID-19 cases have recovered or have been released from isolation.
