A new increase was observed this week in the cases of coronavirus detected in the community, which exceeded four thousand, while particular concern has been caused by the number of positive cases detected in nursing homes, after one hundred and thirty-four cases were announced, at the same time that there is also an increase in hospitalizations.
The increase in cases is mainly due to the untimely booster vaccination of people living in nursing homes but also in closed structures, as well as the prevalence of of two subvariants of Omicron in the community, which were detected in 50% of new cases detected.
One hundred and thirty-four cases detected in nursing homes, he told REPORTER the director of Medical Services, Elisavet Constantinou, refers to people who were not vaccinated in time with a booster dose and explained that, “the Services may have increased the mobile vaccination units for remote areas and nursing homes, nevertheless the way of living inside the roofs is such that once the virus gets in it is hard to stop. Another reason for the increase in new cases is the fact that currently the two sub-variants of Omicron have been identified in 50% of positive cases. We see how slowly these sub-variants began to displace the previous ones and prevail in the community. What has happened in other European countries with the specific variants is that the positive cases are rising at a slow pace”.
In addition, the Ministry of Health has observed based on the data recorded, both this week and the previous increase in positivity rates and in younger ages (s.s.6-12 years), that there is no increased vaccination coverage.
In response to a question, if there are reports of cases of people who are positive for the coronavirus but do not declare it, Ms. Constantinou said that no such complaints have reached them, however it is now up to the social and personal sensitivity of each citizen whether to isolate themselves or if it will be reported as a positive incident.
At the same time, Ms. Constantinou hopes that Cyprus will follow the same course as other European countries with a reduction in cases, even though the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) keeps its cards closed regarding the his predictions for an increase in cases in the next period. As the director of Medical Services said, “ECDC is cautious, because there is a cocktail of respiratory viruses during the winter months. What is required in any case is the observance of individual protection measures and the implementation of vaccinations, both for influenza A and for coronavirus”.
Regarding the possibility of taking measures, Ms. Constantinou repeated what the Ministry of Health officially states, that is to say that at this stage nothing has been discussed about taking measures against the pandemic, however she said that there is an updated plan and the Planning that has been completed by in August and which mainly concerns the adaptation of state hospitals in case of an increase in cases. “We are studying the data on hospitalizations and the goal is to increase vaccination coverage, because none of us want the return of the measures and the quarantine,” he said.
However, despite the increase in hospitalizations, the press representative of the State Health Services, Charalambos Charilaou, characterized the situation in the state hospitals, at this stage, as manageable. As Mr. Harilaou said speaking to REPORTER “there has been a small increase in hospitalizations in the last two days. The situation is being monitored and if necessary we will intervene and if deemed necessary we will open new beds for the positive cases. We consider that the number of hospitalizations is still low and the cases are not so serious that they are taken to the Intensive Care Units”. 011 new cases, while 93 patients are being treated with coronavirus at OKYPY hospitals, of which 10 are in serious condition (two intubated and eight in ICU).
