CORONAVIRUS - MORE THAN ONE THIRD TOTAL CASES ASYMPTOMATIC

 Cyprus Mail 26 September 2020 - by Evie Andreou

More than one third of people who tested positive for coronavirus in Cyprus were asymptomatic while the majority of cases were local, according to the latest epidemiology report released on Friday.

As of September 22, a total of 1,620 Covid-19 cases and 29 deaths – 22 with a direct link to coronavirus – were reported in the Republic of Cyprus.

A total of 1,385 or 87.1 per cent of those diagnosed as positive are deemed to be recovered.

Of the 1,620 cases, 650 were asymptomatic. The median age of people who tested positive while asymptomatic is 34 years.

The median age of all people who tested positive for coronavirus is 39 years. More than half (52.3 per cent) are male and 47.7 per cent female. In total, 217 of the cases (13.4 per cent) received hospital care with the median age of all hospitalised patients being 62. Hospitalised cases were mainly males (63.1 per cent).

According to the report, prepared by the health ministry’s epidemiological surveillance unit, since July 1,  (included), of 622 cases reported, 36 per cent (224) were imported, and 56 per cent (349) were locally-acquired. There is no information on 8 per cent of cases, on how they contracted the virus.

The median time between symptoms onset and date of sampling was three days, the report said. For cases hospitalised after symptoms onset (130 people), the median time from symptom onset to hospital admission was 6.5 days.

The most commonly reported symptoms were cough, fever, myalgia, sore throat, anosmia and shortness of breath. Other reported symptoms were diarrhoea, runny nose, and headache.

As regards pre-existing conditions, the report said that information on comorbidities was available for 1,484 (91.6%) cases. Of these, 488 (32.9%) reported at least one comorbidity. The most commonly reported comorbidities were hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory disease and cancer. Other reported comorbidities were immunosuppression, chronic kidney disease, and autoimmune disease.

As of September 22, the mortality rate for Covid-19 in the Republic of Cyprus was 3.3 per 100,000 population. Of the total 29 deaths of those who died with coronavirus and those who died from coronavirus, 22 were men and seven women. The median age of all deaths was 76 years. The median time from date of sampling to death was 12 days.