Cyprus plans to introduce on March 1st a simplified Covid-19 risk-assessment system for categorising countries. Unvaccinated travellers from green category countries will need a PCR test 72 hours before boarding or a rapid test 24 hours before departure.
Unvaccinated travelers from red category countries will need to also undergo a PCR test on arrival to Cyprus at their own expense. Grey category country travelers will need special permission to enter Cyprus.
The government in Nicosia also plans to reduce next week the number of days that close contacts of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus must self-isolate from 14 to 10.
Cyprus has seen daily infections shoot up dramatically over the last month, reaching infection rates as high as 5%. But cases have tapered off in recent days to an infection rate of a little over 2%.
Tourism directly accounts for 13% of Cyprus’ economy. The country reported a better-than-expected increase in arriving visitors late last year.