One death from coronavirus and 1,986 new infections were announced by the health ministry on Tuesday from 102,159 tests, a positivity rate of 1.94 per cent.

The new death, which concerned an 82-year-old man, brought the total number to 857.

There are 146 people in state hospitals with the virus, of whom 31 are in serious condition. Of them, 13 are intubated in ICUs.

The ministry said 58.22 per cent of the hospitalised patients were unvaccinated.

Most of the new tests, 95,419, concerned rapid tests, while 6,740 were PCR, during which 310 new cases were detected. Of them, 196 were traced following 1,566 PCRs carried out from a private initiative.

Some 1,052 cases were detected after 41,188 rapid tests carried out privately, while another 624 were traced as part of the health ministry’s free rapid testing, also targeting schools and nursing homes.

During tests for contact tracing purposes, another 80 cases were detected.

Meanwhile, one death and another 476 new coronavirus cases were announced by authorities in the north after 14,924 tests.