Coronavirus: New CovScan rules to come into force from Saturday

From Saturday the updated CovScan application will assess the validity of a person’s EUDCC Covid-19 certificate in line with the most recent measures.

There are now five categories: green, blue, yellow/orange, red – and the most recent addition, purple.

According to the latest announcement, the green category is for those who have “completed their vaccine regimen or have recovered from Covid-19, in each case their validity period has not expired”.

Blue is for those who have a valid PCR test taken within the accepted timeframe (72 hours) as laid out in the latest decree.

The yellow/orange category is for negative rapid tests (48 hours).

The purple category is the latest addition and has the most stipulations, with three main sub-categories: The vaccination certificate is valid only with the additional proof of a negative PCR or rapid test. The additional tests will also have to be checked by CovScan.

The first subcategory for purple is for those who have received one dose of a two-dose vaccine regimen within 35 days.

The second subcategory for purple is for those who have received one dose of a single dose vaccination regimen within the past 14 days.

The final subcategory is for those who have previously completed their vaccine regimen within the past seven months but have not proceeded with a ‘booster’ dose.

For those who have received their booster dose, they are able to obtain the updated EUDCC certificate at eudcc.gov.cy.

The certificate is valid in either electronic form (typically via smartphone) or in print form, provided that the QR code is readable.

There are also some demographic groups exempt from the CovScan checks, they are: those aged over 65, those aged 14 and below, Turkish Cypriots who have been vaccinated in the north, tourists (non-permanent residents), permanent and legal residents in Cyprus who were vaccinated in countries outside of the EU economic zone.

Those who are unable to receive the Covid-19 vaccine for medical reasons are also exempt from the CovScan rules, but will have to provide proof of exemption (a card given by the health ministry) and will also have to show proof of a negative PCR or rapid test – valid for seven days.