Today, at 5 am, new measures to control the spread of coronavirus in Cyprus came into force, which decided to ask all residents to be vaccinated or to show a negative result of an older COVID-19 test 72 hours, even when shopping in a supermarket or at the market.
By 31 July, Cypriot citizens and residents must present a "SafePass" for all places they visit indoors and outdoors, where, according to health protocols, more than 20 people can gather. The "Safe Pass" shall contain the certificate attesting to the vaccination that the holder has passed the disease or that the negative result of the PCR test is not older than 72 hours. It must be presented at all points of sale, including supermarkets and public markets, but not in small individual stores.
The government decided to add these restrictions after an increase in the number of coronavirus cases.
Certificates must also be presented in restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment establishments, or in places where up to 10 people can sit at the table and dancing is not allowed. Citizens must also hold this document when using public transport, when receiving various services in the public and / or private sectors, such as banks or customer service centers. The government has decided to add these restrictions after an increase in the number of coronavirus cases to more than 1.000 new cases a day.
The immediate elimination of the "Safe Pass" and the requirement to perform mandatory tests twice a week for the unvaccinated was the main purpose of a large protest that took place on Sunday in Nicosia.
Recently, Cyprus has announced that it will open the old port of Amathus for tourism, in an attempt to turn the industry around.