ΝΙCOSIA – As it’s doing in many countries, the less deadly but more contagious COVID-19 Omicron Variant brought a record number of cases across Cyprus with 2,241 infections reported on Dec. 28, up from 1,925 the day previous.

“I think this is due to the Omicron variant, which may have arrived earlier than we thought,” Petros Karayiannis, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Virology at the University of Nicosia Medical School and a member of a scientific advisory committee to the government told Reuters.

Since the pandemic broke out in March 2020, there have been 154,926 cases reported and 630 deaths, the number of cases seen rising exponentially because of Omicron’s appearance from South Africa.

Cyprus reported its first Omicron case on Dec. 10 but the report said that health officials said that the variant affects those infected with milder symptoms than the Delta Variant, two studies on the island showed.

“Possibly, without having more data, it is due to the Omicron variant which seems to trigger a milder infection,” Karayiannis was quoted as telling the semi-official Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

Health officials are reviewing the data as the pandemic retains its grip on the island where more than 80 percent of those on the Greek-Cypriot side have received two shots of vaccines, no report on how many got boosters.