According to a press release issued by the island nation's Ministry of Health, starting June 1, Cypriot citizens and tourists are exempt from the requirement to wear face masks indoors. Exceptions are hospitals, nursing homes and public transportation.
Starting next month, two relatives or representatives per day will be allowed to visit patients in public and private hospitals upon presentation of a rapid test or a PCR test performed during the last 48 hours.
Thus, the protective measures to contain COVID-19 are now being redirected to increase individual responsibility and awareness of citizens to respect personal protection measures.
Cyprus lifted a number of restrictions imposed due to COVID-19 in April, ahead of the summer season. Tourism is expected to finally recover this year after a two-year downtime.
In particular, from April 18, travelers can enter Cyprus without filling out a passenger search form and other documents that were previously considered mandatory.
At the same time, the classification of countries according to the level of potential danger of infection was canceled. All tourists are now the same, with requirements based on their vaccination status.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that over the past seven days, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Cyprus was 2,103. Since the start of the pandemic, 488,189 infections and 1,057 deaths have been recorded in Cyprus.
Vaccination rates in Cyprus are relatively high — the proportion of the population that completed the primary course of vaccination reached 73.7 percent, about one percent more than in the EU as a whole.