Cyprus authorities announced 13 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with the total number of cases reaching 1,080. Seven of them are Limassol residents, four of whom with a history of travel.

In a press release, the Health Minister said the 13 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 were identified out of a total of 1,725 laboratory tests, according to the Epidemiological Monitoring Unit data.

In particular, five people tested positive out of 469 samples tested by private initiative. Three of them have a recent history of travel. Two people from Limassol had returned from the UK on July 20, while one person had returned from the Greek island of Santorini on July 25. They had no symptoms. One more person who also had no symptoms and no history of travel from Limassol tested positive. The fifth person is from Larnaca and had presented with symptoms.

One person tested positive with COVID-19 out of 208 samples tested in the context of a referral program by personal doctors and the screening of special groups of people through the public health centres.  The person who is hospitalized at Nicosia General Hospital was tested because she has to be hospitalized often to receive treatment.

Seven people tested positive out of 139 samples taken through the procedure of tracing contacts of confirmed cases. Four people were contacts of a couple who had arrived from Holland on July 17 and had been announced as positive on July 26. None of them presented with any symptoms. Two people were contacts of a case announced on July 27 who was in turn a contact of a case announced on July 24. None of them presented with any symptoms. They are all residents of Limassol. One person who tested positive is the husband of a lady from the Philippines who had arrived from the country on July 17 and was announced as a positive case on July 27.  He had traveled with her from the Philippines and was in isolation. They are both residents of Limassol.

According to the press release, no one tested positive out of 652 tests from passengers and repatriated Cypriot residents, 210 tests in the context of screening 10,000 employees of businesses which resumed operations in the second and third phase of the gradual lifting of restrictions and out of 47 lab tests at the Microbiology Labs of the General Hospitals.  

“On the basis of today’s data, the total number of positive cases has reached 1,080,” the press release says.

(CNA)