Coronavirus: SafePass dropped for nightclubs, weddings (update 2)

By Jonathan Shkurko and Gina Agapiou

A SafePass will no longer be required at entertainment centres, nightclubs and events such as weddings and christenings as from May 15, Cabinet decided on Tuesday.

Moreover, two people per day will be allowed to visit patients in hospitals, both public and private. However, they will not be allowed together and will still need to present a negative rapid test no older than 24 hours.

This comes after cabinet decided last month to suspend the need for a SafePass elsewhere, including areas of cafés, restaurants, and shopping malls.

Tuesday’s decision by cabinet to further ease the Covid-19 measures was taken in view of an improved epidemiological picture in Cyprus, Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantelas said.

“The decrease in the number of cases and the reduced hospitalisations in the past weeks have allowed us to proceed with further relaxations,” Hadjipantelas said after cabinet’s decision.

Responding to a question, the minister said according to the latest data, daily Covid infections vary around the 200 mark with the lowest being 120 per day, while daily tests number around 45,000 with the lowest daily figure seen at around 12,000.

He added that daily positivity rate amounts to around 1 per cent, while today there were about 50 people in hospital, of which seven patients were being treated in an ICU.

“Collective and individual responsibility has made a major contribution to the response to the pandemic, but I would like to stress once again that the positive developments must under no circumstances lead to complacency,” the minister said.

On Monday, scientific government advisor Zoe Dorothea Pana said Cyprus is currently in a period of adjustment and preparation for the pandemic’s next phase, with September being a cause for concern for a variety of reasons.

Currently, a SafePass is required in indoor areas of restaurants, coffee shops, however the requirement will be suspended from all areas as of May 15.

From the same date, visits to nursing homes, hospitals and 24/7 facilities will be allowed by unvaccinated people and those who have not recovered from the virus in the last three months with a 48-hour rapid test or 72-hour PCR test twice a week.

Hadjipantelas had said the scaling back of the SafePass will put an end to the state-run rapid testing sites, meaning that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to pay for a rapid or PCR test carried out privately.

Free testing will still be available for close contacts, he added.

However, self-isolation is no longer be required for close contacts regardless of their vaccination status or whether they had contracted the virus in the last three months.

Instead, close contacts will be advised to get tested on the third and fifth day after contact.

Children under the age of 12 are no longer required to wear a face mask.

After Sunday, the maximum capacity of hospitality venues as well as bars and nightclubs will be increased to 100 per cent for establishments up to 500 sqm and to 85 per cent for those over 500 sqm with the ratio remaining to one person per sqm. The maximum capacity in stadiums and casinos was also increased to 85 per cent.

The new measures also provide that vaccinated or recovered employees at hospitals, nursing homes, medical practices, rehabilitation centres and other 24/7 structures will no longer be required to present a negative test to go to work. It was instead recommended they carry out a self-test once a week.

The remaining employees in the specific areas will continue to be required to present a 48-hour negative rapid or PCR test.

A price ceiling was set at €6 for every pack of five self-tests.