Fewer patients, more new cases

Cyprus reported a drop in the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 to 86, eight less than on Thursday, while the new coronavirus cases rose again, this time to 113, up from 103 the day before.

The health ministry said that a 49-yearold woman, with underlying health issue, died at Nicosia General hospital, raising the death toll since the pandemic started to 219.

February has so far accounted for 20 deaths, far from December and January which were the worst months on record, with 76 each.

In all, 148 men have died since last March and 71 women, with the average age at 79 years.

The number of coronavirus patients dropped significantly from 94 the day before to 86, with the critical cases also dropping to 29, having remained unchanged at 35 throughout the entire week.

Tests also increased, with 31,205 conducted on Friday, up from 25,971 on Thursday, but less than the 40,974 last Sunday, the eve of easing more lockdown measures, that included the reopening of retail shops and most schools on Monday.

The 113 new cases of SARS-CoV-2, is up from 103 on Thursday, raising the total to date to 32,288.

The tests, of which 1,290 employed the

PCR molecular method and 29,915 antigen rapid tests, as part of a free national testing programme, diagnosed 30 positive cases from contact tracing linked to earlier infections.

Four from the nine samples taken from national basketball and volleyball teams tested positive, while the rapid tests identified 62 new cases – mainly in Limassol (44), Nicosia (10), Larnaca (5) and Paphos (2).