A heart surgeon testing positive for coronavirus prompted Cyprus to suspend admissions to its largest medical facility, close schools and ban large church services.
Dr Chrysostomos Kokkinos, who headed up the cardiology ward at Nicosia General hospital was one of the first two coronavirus cases diagnosed in Cyprus. The 64-year-old surgeon had recently returned from Britain. The other case is a 25-year-old Limassol man who recently returned from northern Italy.
"What happened to us was probably the worst scenario," Constantinos Ioannou, Minister of Health for Cyprus told Sigma TV.
The Health Ministry said that effective Tuesday, all admissions, outpatient clinics, surgeries and patient visitations at Nicosia General hospital were suspended for 48 hours.
The hospital is being cleaned and sanitised, while anyone who came into contact with him (patients and other medical personnel) have given a blood sample for testing.
