Filenews 1 April 2022
A large increase in the number of daily diagnoses is recorded in the latest data of the National Report.
According to this, there is also an increase in the daily number of hospital admissions and the daily number of hospitalized patients, but so far the burden on hospitals has not been greater than in previous pandemic waves.
At the same time, as specified in the Report, there is currently no increase in hospitalizations in ICU.
Analytically:
As of March 28, 2022, 416,352 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the Republic of Cyprus, with 933 deaths due to COVID-19 (COVID-19 mortality: 0.2%).
The cumulative 14-day incidence of COVID-19 (diagnosed 14-day cases per 100,000 inhabitants) is 6,734.2.
In the last 14 days (15 - 28 March) 59,800 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded:
The median age of COVID-19 cases was 35 years (Intraquartile range: 16-51 years), 53.7% concerns women (n=23,796), 46.3% in men (n=20,535) - out of 44,331 cases (74.1%) with the relevant information available. o Based on the epidemiological history, 1.9% (n=1,132) were cases with a recent travel history, while 98.1% (n=58,450) are in cases of domestic transmission – out of 59,582 cases (99.6%) with the relevant information available.
As of March 30, 2022, 178 patients with active COVID-19 (diagnosed until March 28) were hospitalized (based on registered data, including those discharged, transferred or deceased on March 30). Their median age was 77 years (Intraquartile range: 63 – 84 years), with 55.8% (n=72) concerning men (out of 129 people with the relevant information available) and 36.3% (n=41) people from the Limassol district (out of 113 people with the relevant information available). In total, 33 (30%) people with COVID-19 who were hospitalized reported underlying diseases (out of 110 people with the relevant information available).
According to the registered data, as of March 30, 2022, 5 people with active COVID-19 (diagnosed until March 28 including those transferred or died on March 30) were in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) – all 5 (100%) were intubated. The Epidemiological data are subject to change due to the rapidly evolving situation 3 median age of these COVID-19 patients in ICU was 69 years (Intraquartile range: 68-84 years). Only for three cases (men) at the moment was information on gender identity available. For people with COVID-19 hospitalized in ICU during this period, the existence of underlying diseases for 2 cases (from 4 people with the relevant information available) has been recorded.
In the last 14 days, 52,141 molecular tests (PCR) (5,871.7 per 100,000 population) and 1,194,375 antigen rapid tests (134,501.7 per 100,000 population) have been performed.
Epidemiological Data in the Republic of Cyprus
The analyses are based on laboratory-confirmed cases that are notified to the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health. As of March 28, 2022, 416,352 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the laboratory (Figures 1, 2 and 3).
In the last 14 days (March 15 - 28) 59,800 cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed laboratory. The cumulative 14-day incidence of COVID-19 (diagnosed 14-day cases per 100,000 inhabitants)1, an indicator that reflects the proportion of active COVID-19 cases in the population (prevalence of active disease) 2, is 6,734.2 per 100,000 inhabitants (Figure 3).
Characteristics of confirmed cases of COVID-19 diagnosed in the last 14 days
Among 59,800 cases of COVID-19 diagnosed as of March 15, 2022, 53.7% are women (n=23,796) and 46.3% in men (n=20,535) - out of 44,331 cases (74.1%) with the relevant information available. By age groups: 16,951 people 0-19 years old (28.4%), 33,502 people aged 20-59 years (56%), 9,334 people aged 60 years and over (15.6%), while for 13 cases the information was not available.
Figure 4 shows the distribution of COVID-19 cases by age group and gender. The median age of all COVID-19 cases of the last 14 days is 35 years (Intraquartile range 16-51 years). The median age of adults (≥ 18 years) with COVID-19 is 42 years (Intraquartile range 32-57 years). The cumulative effects of 14 days (per 100,000 inhabitants), based on the age group, are presented in Figure A1 in the Annex.
Among the cases diagnosed in the last 14 days, out of 47,192 (78.9%) cases with available information, 17,855 (37.8%) had a place of residence in Nicosia district, 13,909 (29.5%) in Limassol district, 7,288 (15.4%) in Larnaca district, 5,376 (11.4%) in Paphos district, 2,740 (5.8%) in the free Famagusta district and 24 (0.1%) abroad. Figure A2 in the Annex illustrates the distribution of cases by province.
Epidemiological history
In the last 14 days (15 - 28 March), of the 59,582 cases (99.6%) with available information, 1.9% (n=1,132) concerned cases with a recent travel history, while 98.1% (n=58,450) concerned domestic transmissions.
Clinical Features
In the last 14 days (15 - 28 March), out of 57,116 cases (95.5%) with available information, 39.2% (n=22,402) did not report any symptoms during diagnosis, while 60.8% (n=34,714) reported at least one symptom.
Underlying diseases
In the last 14 days (March 15 - 28), of the 57,183 cases (95.6%) with information available, 3,480 people with COVID-19 (6.1%) reported at least one underlying disease.
Deaths
Based on the recorded data, among the people diagnosed with COVID-19 as of March 28, 933 deaths were recorded (as of March 30, 2022), with the underlying cause being COVID-19 (COVID-19 mortality: 0.2%). Covid-19 mortality per 100,000 population is 105.1. Men had 563 deaths (60.3%) and women 370 (39.7%). The median age of people with COVID-19 who died due to this disease was 79 years (Intraquartile range: 69-86 years). In the Limassol district, 329 (35.3%) deaths were reported, 287 (30.8%) in the Nicosia district, 170 (18.2%) in the Larnaca district, 86 (9.2%) in the Pafos district, 55 (5.9%) in the province of free Famagusta and 6 deaths (0.6%) concern residence abroad or there was no information available for them.
The median time from the date of sampling to the date of death from COVID-19 was 14 days (Intraquartile range: 7-24 days). The graph (Figure 5a) shows the number of deaths per day with an underlying cause of COVID-19.
Based on the registered data, among the people diagnosed with COVID-19 by March 28, 1079 deaths from all causes were reported, by March 30, 2022 (mortality from any cause among diagnosed COVID-19 cases: 0.3%). Mortality (deaths from all causes in people with COVID-19 per 100,000 population) is 121.5. Men had 652 deaths (60.4%) and women 427 (39.6%).
The median age of those with COVID-19 who died was 79 years (Intraquartile range: 69-86 years). In limassol district, 389 (36%) deaths were reported, 335 (31.1%) in Nicosia district, 191 (17.7%) in Larnaca district, 98 (9.1%) in Paphos district, 60 (5.6%) in free Famagusta district and 6 deaths (0.5%) are related to residence abroad or no information was available.
The median time from the date of sampling to the date of death from any cause in people with COVID-19 was 14 days (Intraquartile range: 7-24 days). The graph (Figure 5b) shows the number of all deaths (from each cause) of people who had been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Admissions to Hospitals and Intensive Care Units (ICU)
As of March 30, 2022, in total, 2% (n=8,442) of COVID-19 cases (diagnosed until March 28, 2022), received hospital treatment. The median age of hospitalized people is 62 years (Intraquartile range: 47-74 years). Excluding 196 (2.3%) cases without available information, hospital care was mainly for men (n=4,602, 55.8%).
The median age of patients with active COVID-19 who are still hospitalized (until March 30, 2022, with a diagnosis until March 28, 2022, without a negative test for the novel coronavirus after diagnosis or still considered potentially contagious and including those discharged, transferred or died on March 30 - n=178) is 77 years (Intraquartile range: 63 – 84 years) and 55.8% (n=72) concern men (out of 129 people with available information). 36.3% (n=41 out of 113 cases with available information) concern patients from the Limassol district, while 33 out of 110 people with available information (30%) reported underlying diseases.
It is worth noting that until March 30, 2022 and with a diagnosis until March 28, 2022, a total of 232 patients continue to be hospitalized, including those who have ceased to be tested positive for the novel coronavirus or are considered contagious, were discharged, transferred or died that day. The graph below (Figure 6a) shows the number of hospital admissions (first admission) per day.
Figure 6b shows the total number of hospitalized with active COVID-19 each day (excluding cases admitted to the ICU).
In total, 869 patients (10.3% of all hospitalized patients) were admitted to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU4). The median age of people admitted to ICU was 66 years (Intraquartile range: 58-73 years). Patients in the ICU were mostly men (n=542, 62.4%). The median duration of stay in ICU (for all patients with active COVID-19 in ICU) is 12 days (Intraquartile range: 7-20 days).
According to the registered data, as of March 30, 2022, 5 patients (diagnosed until March 28, 2022 and without a negative test for the novel coronavirus after diagnosis or still considered potentially contagious, including those transferred or deceased on March 30) were in an ICU. The median age of these patients was 69 years (Intraquartile range: 68-84 years).
Only 3 cases were available for gender identity and related to men. For people hospitalized in ICU in the current period, the existence of underlying diseases has been recorded for 2 cases (from 4 people with the relevant information available).
The number of these patients currently in ICU, according to the registered data, per 100,000 inhabitants, is 0.6. It is worth noting that until March 30, 2022 and with a diagnosis until March 28, 2022, a total of 24 patients (including those with a negative test for the novel coronavirus after their diagnosis or who ceased to be considered contagious) continue to be hospitalized intubated in ICU. Of the 869 patients admitted to the ICU, 823 (94.7%) were intubated and 5 (100%) are still intubated (out of 5 without a negative test for the novel coronavirus after being diagnosed or who are still considered potentially contagious). The graph below shows COVID-19 patients in ICU (with or without intubation) (Figure 7).
Recovery By March 28, 2022, 92.9% (n=385,905) of COVID-19 cases have been released/recovered.
