Two Cypriot men, a 25-year-old and a 64-year-old, who is an employee at a public hospital in Nicosia, were diagnosed with the coronavirus, the Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou announced on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference, the Minister said that the 25-year-old returned from Milan on February 26 and he was examined at the nurse’s office at the airport. He then followed orders for self-isolation. According to the Minister, the young man is still in self-isolation and he underwent tests for the second time which came out positive for coronavirus. He explained that he showed symptoms on March 5.
The Health Minister said that the second confirmed case is a 64-year-old man who is an employee at a public hospital. He travelled to England and returned home on March 3. The man contacted the authorities yesterday following symptoms he had. The man was tested positive.
The Minister said that it is sad that the second case concerns a man who returned to Cyprus on March 3, he had symptoms since then but he only contacted the authorities yesterday. He pointed out that this makes it difficult for the authorities to trace all his contacts in the last five days.
The Minister went on to say that because the young man in self-isolation and hasn’t come into contact with anyone, the protocol does not require to locate any close contacts. But he pointed out that as regards the second case, the symptoms were shown since March 3, however, the health authorities were contacted yesterday to run the tests.
He assured that all efforts will be made to trace his contacts and will be invited for tests and the protocols will be implemented.
The Minister was asked if the 64-year-old man came in touch with patients, and he said that he might have had.
He called on travellers to be vigilant and in case symptoms appear, to contact 1420. The rest, he added, need to take measures for protection in order to contain the spread of the virus.
The Health Minister added that the protocol does not require that the whole of the hospital will be but in quarantine but just the particular clinic where he works. He said that his colleagues will be contacted and briefed and all directions and measures will be taken to protect them.
The Minister said that the next two days a series of tests will be run for all those who came in contact with the 64-year-old in order to see whether we have more confirmed cases.
He clarified that no tests were run at the airport as the man came from England and the country was not included then in the countries of high risk.
The symptoms of both men are mild, he added.
He also said that those suspected cases in army camps will continue to be monitored.
A 65-year old tourist from Germany is the first positive coronavirus case in the Turkish-occupied north of Cyprus.
According to reports from the occupied north, the woman arrived in the illegal regime on Sunday from Germany in a group of 30 more tourists.
She developed a fever on Monday evening and was tested positive for coronavirus. All members of the group were quarantined.
What are the coronavirus symptoms?
The World Health Organization describes the symptoms as such:
“Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.
Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing.
[…] The hospital is abiding by the procedures followed by the Nicosia General hospital which went on a lockdown Tuesday morning after one of its doctors’ was tested positive for Coronavirus. […]