Another two people have tested positive for coronavirus, both from repatriations, bringing the total number of cases in Cyprus to 974, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday. A total of 1,369 tests were carried out. There were two positive cases.
One was from 217 tests carried out after referral from personal doctors and tests for special groups through the public health centres. In this case, the individual was a repatriate who had tested negative on arrival but then developed symptoms and was referred by the personal doctor for a test
One from 125 tests carried out from repatriations. Procedures have been set in motion as regards the individual’s close contacts
The health ministry on Wednesday expanded the list of countries included in category A with the least restrictions for entering Cyprus. Meanwhile, Israel, which until Wednesday was in category A, has been moved into category B where stricter conditions apply. Both categories were allowed entry into Cyprus from Tuesday. The ministry also listed countries in category C which are still viewed as high-risk countries and are not allowed entry. The UK falls into category C. The three lists were prepared based on the main epidemiological indicators of the countries such as the actual reproduction number R (t) for Sars-CoV-2, the number of new diagnoses, of laboratory tests, the mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants, the estimated level of the virus prevalence and the impact and classification by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Category A, which concerns low risk countries, now include Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Category B now includes Israel, Poland and Romania.
Category C includes Belgium, Ireland, Italy, France, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. These countries, according to the health ministry present more increased risk compared to the other two groups.
The health ministry pointed out that the current categorisation of countries, based on the epidemiological risk assessment, can vary at any time, as the pandemic evolves and the epidemiological data change. To this end, the list of countries will be updated regularly, it said.
Slovakia will allow free travel to and from 16 more European countries, including Cyprus, from June 10 and no longer require face masks to be worn outside, Prime Minister Igor Matovic said on Tuesday, as the country further eased its coronavirus lockdown. There will be no restrictions on visitors from Germany, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, Reuters reports.
The Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved a €6.3 m incentives scheme to boost Cyprus’ air connectivity in the wake of the lifting of restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus. The scheme will apply for six months and aims to encourage airlines to put Cyprus on their schedules by undertaking part of the risk, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos said. The incentives will be offered to airlines provided their capacity is between 40% and 70% and the sum will depend on the capacity rate, he added. It has been calculated based on projections for passengers in the next months of 37,000 in June, 196,000 in July, 460,000 in August, 634,000 in September, 693,000 in October, 380,000 in November and 334,000 in December. Karousos said some 20 airlines have already put Cyprus on their schedules and more are expected to follow suit with companies restoring the geographical coverage of their flights, albeit not at the same frequency as before the coronavirus crisis. He also expressed satisfaction with the reopening yesterday of the airports. Protocols had been adhered to and all had gone smoothly.
