Coronavirus: Cyprus downgrades UK to red

Cyprus downgraded the United Kingdom to red and upgraded Denmark, Belgium, Monaco, Vatican City and Jordan to the Green category as part of its updated national country assessment for travel to be in force on July 8, the health ministry said on Monday.

Downgraded from the green to the orange category are Saudi Arabi and South Korea, while Spain joined the UK in the red category.

Upgraded to the orange category were Lebanon, North Macedonia, Taiwan and Qatar.

The health ministry also evaluated Azerbaijan and Kosovo in the orange category, while Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Moldova and Montenegro were listed in the red category.

Visitors from green category countries do not require to present a negative coronavirus test nor self-isolate to visit Cyprus.

Passengers from orange category countries must take a PCR test within 72 hours prior to their departure with a negative result.

Cypriot citizens, their spouses and children, people residing permanently in the Republic and people allowed to enter the country based on the Vienna Convention, and people in countries where PCR tests are not provided, may get tested upon arrival at Larnaca and Paphos airports. They need to self-isolate until the PCR results are ready. The test cost is covered by passengers.

Passengers from red category countries are required to undergo a PCR test within 72 hours prior to departure and undergo another PCR test upon arrival in Cyprus. They must remain in self isolation until the result is issued. The cost of the test is covered by the passengers.

Cypriot citizens, their spouses and children, people residing permanently in the Republic, and people allowed to enter the country based on the Vienna Convention may get tested upon arrival at Larnaca and Paphos airports. These people need to self-isolate for 72 hours and then take a second PCR test.

If their test result is negative, they must send the results to [email protected] to be discharged from self-isolation.

Passengers from grey category countries (that are not in red, orange or green) must get special permission to arrive in Cyprus.

The ministry reiterated that all passengers need to file an application to CyprusFlightPass before their flight to Cyprus. The document could be used as a substitute to the national SafePass allowing tourists to visit indoor crowded venues such as shopping malls, restaurants and cafés among others.

Meanwhile, people, regardless of nationality, holding a valid vaccination certificate concerning the acceptable vaccines will be exempt from presenting a negative PCR test or self-isolation.

The acceptable vaccines include Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Sputnik V and Sinopharm.

In the case of two-dose vaccines the person should have been vaccinated with both doses, while in the case of the Janssen vaccine (single-dose vaccine) 14 days should have elapsed between the vaccine dose and the travel date. More information is available at https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/en/vaccinated-passengers.

As of August 1, Cypriots and legal residents of the Republic flying from abroad must follow the protocols applying to all passengers unless they have received at least one dose of the vaccine.