It might take a little longer than anticipated to see COVID-19 cases fall to zero in Cyprus, said Dr. Petros Karayiannis, a Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Virology and member of the Ministry of Health’s Advisory Committee, attributing the delay to a certain degree of carelessness on the part of the people.

Speaking to CNA, Karayiannis said that we need to avoid at all costs a situation where the virus spreads in the community due to indifference. If cases rise to 20-30 for three or four consecutive days then “we will need to make two steps back” and reinstate measures, the professor warned.

Dr. Karayiannis pointed to the current level of single digit cases reported on a daily basis in Cyprus. We have to be twice as careful during this time, he went on, adding that the virus may spread after measures relax, if necessary precautions are not observed.

Asked if Cyprus is far from witnessing zero cases, Dr. Karayiannis said that it seems that this will take a little longer than anticipated. “I hoped that we would have zero [cases] by now, but there has been some negligence” by the people he said and expressed hope that the downward trend continues.

From the data available to the Advisory Committee there is no obvious peak attributed to people’s behavior during Easter, the professor said and noted that they are dealing mostly with isolated incidents.

Off course there have been confirmed cases among the personnel of a few businesses and in a nursing home, he went on, he said however that a single source of infection is easier to put under control than isolated cases. Isolating a source of infection does not require drastic measures across the population, as in the case when the virus spreads in the community, he explained.

He also referred to the importance of keeping the R0 rate, or reproduction number, below 1 as an indication that the epidemic is declining and that it will disappear at some point. Statistics indicate that Cyprus is well below 1, at 0.3 for some time now, he said, adding that after measures relax, the rate is expected to go up since not everyone will observe measures.

“We need to have 20-30 case per day for three or four consecutive days for the situation to go out of control. If this happens, we will need to take two steps back,” Karayiannis said.

Asked about the experimental antiviral drug Remdesivir, which was authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Dr. Karayiannis said that its properties are similar to that of any wide raging antibiotic. He went on to say that Remdesivir is not 100% efficient, as some studies show that it has a positive impact on 65% of the patients, while other studies say it has none.

The drug is being endorsed in the US, in Europe however clinical studies in various countries have not been completed yet, he adds.

Dr. Karayiannis notes that the drug seems to improve somewhat the condition of patients and may help some of them to avoid being intubated but warned that Remdesivir is not as effective for all patients.