Cyprus’s hospitals are managing a rise in seasonal infections and no additional measures are currently needed, Health Minister Neophytos Charalambidis said on Wednesday after visiting Nicosia General Hospital.
“The situation, as SHSO informs us, is manageable and no additional measures are required at present,” Charalambidis told reporters, adding that there was no need to secure extra beds from private hospitals.
The minister said increased pressure on accident and emergency departments is a recurring winter challenge, and that pre-Christmas meetings had been held with all relevant bodies to review infection levels. The current epidemiological picture is roughly the same as last year, possibly slightly lower, he said.
The ministry is being briefed almost daily on bed occupancy, and SHSO is managing the situation “in the best possible way,” he added.
The spread of RSV is being closely monitored and guidance is being continuously issued to all bodies involved, Charalambidis said.
Dr Elisavet Konstantinou, the ministry’s Deputy Director General, said flu, RSV and COVID cases were all trending downward, though additional decisions would be taken if needed.
Flu deaths remain at 32, Konstantinou said, describing the post-holiday spike as the expected annual peak. She noted that there had been a strong public response to vaccination, and that free immunisation is available for newborns through GHS paediatricians. Elderly adults can also get a preventive vaccine through their personal doctor, she added.
A second wave is typically expected around early March, Konstantinou said, but there is still time for unvaccinated vulnerable groups and older people to get vaccinated.
The second wave is usually milder than the first and generally dominated by the Influenza B strain, with no deviation from normal patterns expected, she said.
Hospitalisations were somewhat lower than the previous week, both in intensive care units and general wards, a decline she attributed to the fall in cases.
(information from CNA)
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