No new deaths from Covid-19 were announced on Tuesday but 166 new positive cases were recorded, while 60 coronavirus patients are receiving treatment in hospital.

Tuesday’s positives were identified from a total of 53,275 tests, resulting in a positivity rate of 0.31 per cent.

Since the start of the pandemic a total of 121,700 cases have been recorded.

Of those in hospital, 23 are in serious condition while 60.94 per cent of all patients are unvaccinated.

The ministry added that there are ten post-Covid-19 patients still receiving treatment.

As for Tuesday’s tests, PCR tests accounted for 4,533 and the rapid tests a further 48,742.

The PCR tests picked up the following positives: 18 from 281 contact tracing tests, 13 from 2,114 airport tests, 42 from 1,563 tests taken privately and three from 227 tests taken at hospitals.

The 29,567 rapid tests taken privately – primarily among the unvaccinated who are no longer eligible for the government’s free screening programme – picked up 69 positives.

The government’s 19,175 free rapid tests for select groups identified 21 positives.

Notably, no positives were identified among primary school children following 2,340 tests carried out by the government.

Just five positives were picked up from the 11,557 tests taken among secondary school students.

Of the 978 tests taken at care homes in Larnaca, Nicosia and Limassol just one person tested positive.

Meanwhile, the north announced 113 new positives on Tuesday following 19,628 tests, raising the total positives identified so far there to 20,476.