Coronavirus: three deaths, 424 new cases announced on Friday (Updated)

The health ministry on Friday announced three deaths and 424 new cases of Covid-19 through PCR testing of which 122 were people found positive from rapid testing in previous days.

Another 213 people were found positive from rapid testing but will have to be confirmed through PCR.

The total number of positives detected via PCR in total since the outbreak in March has risen to 14,476.

The final cause of death in all three cases were attributed to Covid-19.

Specifically, a 63-year-old man with underlying health conditions died while being cared for at Nicosia general hospital’s ICU wing.

Another man, aged 81, with underlying health conditions died at Famagusta general hospital after being transferred there from the Kyperounta multipurpose centre.

An 83-year-old woman with underlying health conditions also died at the Famagusta general hospital.

The total number of deaths attributed to Covid-19 now stands at 75, 49 of whom are men (65 per cent) and 26 are women and the average age remains at 77.

As of Friday night, there are 110 Covid-19 patients of whom 17 are seriously ill. Of the 17, ten are intubated and two are in ICUs without ventilators while five are in the high dependency unit.

The Famagusta hospital has the majority of patients, 59, while Nicosia has 27, Limassol 15 and Makarion has nine.

As for the cases, 3,922 PCR tests identified 424 positives.

The majority – 129 – were found via 883 tests done through the contact tracing programme while another 122 positives were confirmed out of 128 positive rapid tests taken on previous days.

Out of a total of 8,894 rapid tests there were 213 positive results which will be subject to PCR tests for verification.

There were also 17 positive cases at care homes, nine in Peristerona and 8 in Agios Antonios as well as one at Hope for Children.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.