{"id":245964,"date":"2021-05-10T00:00:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T21:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/cyprus-lifts-lockdown-with-covid-safety-pass\/"},"modified":"2021-05-10T00:00:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T21:00:01","slug":"cyprus-lifts-lockdown-with-covid-safety-pass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cyprus-lifts-lockdown-with-covid-safety-pass\/","title":{"rendered":"#Cyprus lifts lockdown with COVID ‘safety pass’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Cyprus lifts lockdown with COVID ‘safety pass’<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Cyprus on Monday will exit a third partial lockdown with a new coronavirus “safety pass” system to allow people to move freely.\n <\/p>\n

“As of tomorrow, Cyprus takes a step towards returning to a more normal pace of social<\/a> and economic activity,” Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said Sunday.<\/p>\n

“By implementing health protocols, testing the population and expediting the vaccination programme, Cyprus is taking an important step towards exiting uncertainty,” he added.<\/p>\n

The government is abolishing a system of official app<\/a>roval by text message used to allow people to leave home.<\/p>\n

Cypriots wanting to enter hospitality venues will now need to show a COVID certificate that the government has named a “safety pass”.<\/p>\n

Those eligible must have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine or contracted the virus in the past six months or have a valid 72-hour negative PCR or rapid test.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the pass is a temporary measure, to be enforced until May 31, to help speed up the island’s vaccination rollout in a race to reach herd immunity, with 65 percent of the adult population vaccinated at least once, by end June.<\/p>\n

Although outdoor hospitality and retail shops are to reopen, a night-time curfew will remain in place, effective from 11 pm.<\/p>\n

On April 26, Cyprus went into a two-week lockdown as hospitals struggled to cope with surging coronavirus cases.<\/p>\n

Cyprus has faced a third wave of COVID-19 infections fuelled by the more contagious British variant, with daily cases peaking at a record 941 last month.<\/p>\n

New daily cases have since eased to below 400, as has the test positivity rate.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, Cyprus recorded 397 cases, on a record 71,250 COVID tests.<\/p>\n

The level, however, is much higher than September 2020 when daily infections were often close to zero.<\/p>\n

Freeing up the economy comes as the eastern Mediterranean holiday island welcomes vaccinated tourists without entry curbs from May 10.<\/p>\n

The country says it has made significant progress on its vaccination campaign, with people in their twenties now eligible for their first jab from Monday.<\/p>\n

The health ministry said Cyprus ranks sixth in the EU for administering the first dose of COVID vaccines.<\/p>\n

Up until 8 May, 36 percent of the adult population had received a first jab and 11 percent been fully vaccinated.<\/p>\n

Government-controlled southern Cyprus has registered almost 70,000 cases of COVID-19 infection and 334 deaths since the pandemic reached its shores in March 2020.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Follow the latest news<\/a> on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Cyprus lifts lockdown with COVID ‘safety pass’ (2021, May 9)
\n retrieved 9 May 2021
\n from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2021-05-cyprus-lockdown-covid-safety.html<\/p>\n

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