Second virus case tests negative in Cyprus

A woman from China, who traveled back to Cyprus on Monday and was suspected of being a carrier of the coronavirus, tested negative for the Wuhan bug hours later.

According to local media, Cypriot authorities were alerted to a possible case of coronavirus, with reports saying a female passenger on an Aeroflot flight was exhibiting possible symptoms of the virus including what was thought to be fever.

After landing, health officials at the airport immediately quarantined the woman, described as a permanent resident of Cyprus, and transported her to Nicosia General Hospital where she remained isolated until test results came back.

On Monday evening, the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics in Nicosia announced that the results were negative.

But officials said the woman would remain in hospital overnight for precautionary reasons, while a number of other passengers were given instructions on self-monitoring for the next two weeks, which is the minimum length of the incubation period for the Wuhan bug.

Suspicions had been raised over the health of the woman, who visited China two weeks while she was on a flight back to Cyprus via Moscow. Only she was said to have exhibited possible symptoms according to reports relayed from the airline to health officials. Others on the plane sitting near the woman, as well as passengers who had also flown to China, were also inspected and asked to fill out special forms.

This was the second case of a Chinese national living in Cyprus who was quarantined after a trip to China.

Last week, a young man from China who was suspected of being a carrier of the coronavirus also tested negative. He had traveled the previous month to his native country, then back to Cyprus, and then on a short trip to Egypt. He was quarantined as a possible carrier after landing at Larnaca International Airport.

In both cases, no other passengers were quarantined but officials said they had action plans on the ready in case a suspected carrier tested positive.