Coronavirus: Advisor says masks could go by end of summer

Masks in Cyprus may be a thing of the past as further relaxations are set to follow due to increased vaccinations, according to a government advisor.

“Perhaps by the end of August we may throw the masks away,” Petros Karayiannis, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Virology at the Medical School of the University of Nicosia told Sigma in an interview on Monday morning.

He based the claim on the projection that by the end of June about 65 per cent of the Cypriot population should be vaccinated with at least the first dose.

It was not immediately clear however whether Karayiannis meant masks worn indoors, outdoors or both, as the distinction was not made.

Masks became compulsory outdoors in October, 2020.

At the time, the government’s coronavirus advisory team publicly expressed their surprise at the outdoor mask mandate.

Constatinos Tsioutis and Giorgos Nikolopoulos, also members of the epidemiological team both said in an interview that the decision was political.

Israel rescinded its outdoor mask mandate last month.