Wednesday sees 32 new coronavirus cases

Confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 526 in the Republic on Wednesday, as 32 more people were found positive for the virus after a bulk of 1,256 samples were processed by labs islandwide.

The 32 new cases announced on Wednesday during the Health Ministry’s daily briefing involve 24 people who were tracked down and tested as they had come in contact with other known cases, and eight people whose history is still under investigation.

Among the new cases are one person from Paphos and one from Aradippou, were targeted testing efforts have been carried out.

Paphos completed its round of targeted testing on Wednesday, with four people testing positive after a total of 707 samples were selectively collected and tested. In Aradippou, where 525 people were selected for testing, 17 emerged positive for the virus.

So far, Cyprus labs have conducted 14,273 coronavirus tests. A total of 52 people who had initially been confirmed positive for the virus have now recovered.

As reported by Knews earlier on Wednesday, new cases over the past couple of days may initially point toward a numerical increase compared to the lower numbers announced at the end of last week, though the increased number of confirmed cases corresponds to the doubling of the number of tests conducted on a daily basis.

Speaking at the daily briefing, health expert Leontios Kostrikis said that Wednesday’s new cases show that the island was on the correct path, but the public should remain on alert as some who may carry the virus but remain asymptomatic may still be moving around among us.

Data valid until 3pm on Wednesday showed that 45 coronavirus patients were being treated in hospitals across Cyprus.

Since March 7, the 1420 coronavirus helpline received over 20,000 calls, while the Ambulance Service has dealt with other 9,000 incidents relating to coronavirus, sending ambulances but also specialized staff to conduct over 800 coronavirus tests at the homes of people with mobility and other issues.