The latest announcement bring the number of total coronavirus cases in Cyprus to 1,208, deaths 19.
The 10,000 corona virus random tests that were launched this week island-wide will show the way forward on how to address the pandemic, members of the Ministry of Health`s scientific committee have said. They also said that the virus transmission rate in Cyprus is between 1.6 and 2, meaning that any person infected can transmit the virus to up to two people. The goal of the epidemiological team is to achieve again a drop of that rate at below 1%. Members of the Ministry of Health`s advisory scientific committee Dr. Leondios Kostrikis, Professor of Molecular Biology at the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Cyprus, and Dr Zoe-Dorothea Pana, Lecturer at the European University Cyprus gave a press conference on Thursday, during which they announced that the scientific team will be meeting every week to assess the situation and give recommendations. They also stressed the need for everyone to observe measures of hygiene and social distancing, noting that these are our weapons against the virus until a vaccine is found. Kostrikis said that during today`s meeting with the Minister of Health, they raised the issue of young asymptomatic persons, noting that the new outbreak observed in recent days mainly affects this group of people, between the ages of 40 to 45.
In around two to three weeks, the epidemiological situation is expected to return to the low levels Cyprus saw prior to the recent outbreak in Limassol, Professor of Biotechnology and Virology at University of Cyprus, and government adviser Leontios Kostrikis said on Wednesday. He also said that the virus appeared to be less pathogenic, and that Cyprus was not experiencing a second wave. Kostrikis told CNA that three weeks, with the latest measures, was enough to stop the chain of transmission. New cases have been in the double digits mostly over the past week, prompting a new decree that the public wear masks in enclosed public spaces on pain of a €300 fine. “I hope that after two or three weeks after the announcement of protective measures by the minister of health we will return to the levels we were at before,” said Kostrikis. “What I want to see in Cyprus until the introduction of the vaccine, is to have small numbers, numbers that are close to zero.” Commenting on the recent high number of new cases in Limassol, he said most came from contact tracing and a few from travellers. “At the end of this week, at the beginning of the next, I hope we will start to see the results of the measures and have a drop.”
Ireland on Wednesday downgraded Cyprus from its “green list” that drops a 14-day quarantine requirement for travellers arriving from countries with a low covid-19 infection rate, according to state radio. Passengers from countries not on the “green list” of Ireland which has one of the lower rates of infection in the European Union are asked to restrict their movements for 14 days. The Mediterranean island’s downgrade followed additional measures by Dublin to limit non-essential travel in the wake of an uptick in covid-19 infections in recent days both in Ireland and other European countries.
Hotel bookings in August which is the traditional month for holidays in Cyprus is very low with the first week reaching only about 25% of average occupancy. Hoteliers are hopeful the month’s second and third week will pick up pace. These are the two weeks Cypriots prefer to go on holiday. “Gone are the days when you could not find even one vacant hotel room to book in August, especially in popular coastal resorts and areas,” an insider said. Tourist arrivals in Cyprus had reached new record highs in August 2019, marking an increase of 3.6% compared with August 2018, according to data released by the island’s Statistical Service. Specifically, arrivals of tourists reached 553,845 in August 2019 compared to 534,847 in August 2018. August 2019 had the highest volume of tourist arrivals ever recorded in Cyprus during the specific month.
Bookings for weddings in Cyprus have increased by 88 per cent for May 2021, predicting a “promising future for the wedding industry”, the platform BookYourWeddingDay.com said on Friday. In a statement, the website said it recorded an increase for 2021 and 2022 bookings from couples that have chosen Cyprus for their destination wedding, with a small number of those bookings hailing from markets that “do not traditionally view Cyprus as a prime wedding destination, including Germany, Belgium, Estonia, Sweden and Norway.” Specifically, May bookings increased by 88 per cent compared to the previous month, while June’s bookings increased by 15 per cent compared to May. According to the statement, 90 per cent of weddings scheduled for the 2020 summer were rescheduled, with trends indicating that 2021 “will be a year of overbookings.” According to BookYourWeddingDay.com CEO and founder Maria Evripides, wedding tourism generates €120m in Cyprus, with the industry expected to recover from issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
