Coronavirus in Cyprus May 2022
Cyprus is now living with Covid 19 and most restrictions are over
This special Coronavirus in Cyprus page tells you some of our Covid 19 history.
More importantly you don't need to worry about it anymore as the passenger locator form for travel is no longer required and masks are only needed in shops.
How Coronavirus in Cyprus has been tackled
Cyprus identified its first case of Covid-19 on Monday March 9th 2020. Since then, we've had a roller-coaster ride of lockdowns, a restriction-free summer in 2020 and then several short sharp lockdowns with the latest one ending on May 10th 2021 after a sharp rise in cases due to new variants emerging.
UPDATE July 21st 2021. Sadly, after restrictions were lifted fully in early June, the Delta variant has caused another surge in case numbers, largely fuelled by younger unvaccinated people partying and ignoring health protocols. A COVID SAFE PASS is now required for entry into ALL indoor and outdoor businesses with more than 20 people INCLUDING the large supermarkets. So if you are not fully vaccinated, have a 72 hour negative test or can prove you have had Covid in the last 6 months, you are fairly restricted. We hope the peak will soon be reached and that hospitals will not become overwhelmed, as 90% of admissions are unvaccinated people.
Our lockdowns here have been VERY STRICT with SMS permission required to go out, ongoing curfews and constant checks for compliance with fines of €300 minimum per person for breaking the health protocols - mask wearing, social distancing, breaking the curfew etc.
With the vaccine roll-out now having reached 70% of the population, Cyprus is well and truly on track to finally "beat" Coronavirus, despite the current surge in cases and rise in hospital admissions.
Cyprus now welcomes ALL passengers with FULL VACCINATION coverage without ANY restrictions. Your own country may impose restrictions on return from Cyprus however, and you must complete the Cyprus Flight Pass to enter the country. (Flight Pass website link in blue box at top of the page). Your Flight pass counts as your Safe pass for entry to restaurants, shops etc. It may seem draconian, but the rules are there to keep us all safe You can enjoy a carefree holiday otherwise!
UPDATE MAY 28th 2021. Cyprus experienced a surge in cases in April, mainly down to new variants emerging and with hospital numbers rising, we went into another STRICT two-week lockdown from end April to May 9th. Thankfully, both case numbers and hospital admissions have dropped dramatically, so almost almost all restrictions have now been lifted. No more SMS required to go out and the curfew, currently from midnight to 5am will be lifted completely on June 10th. By the end of June we expect Cyprus to be in the EU's Green category, meaning restriction-free travel both from and to our beautiful island.
UPDATE Feb 2nd 2021. Unfortunately, cases continued to rise in December peaking at 907 on Dec 29th and with hospital cases over 200, Christmas restrictions were tightened to only allow two households to meet. A full STRICT 3 week lockdown followed in January with SMS permission required to go out and the 9pm to 5am curfew continuing. But it worked! Cases have come back down to 100 or so per day, hospital numbers have dropped as a result and restrictions are now being gradually lifted again. Yippee - haircuts allowed again!
UPDATE DEC 1st 2020. A partial-lockdown has now been extended island-wide although restrictions have been relaxed in Paphos/Limassol with most businesses like restaurants allowed to re-open. We have a curfew in place from 9pm to 5am and restaurants must close by 7pm. Otherwise shops, bars, coffee shops etc are all open with relevant health protocols in place.
FREE rapid tests are available island-wide to help identify more cases. We are hopeful that restrictions will be relaxed over Christmas, provided cases drop back to no more than 100 per day and hospitals do not get overwhelmed.
UPDATE November 14th 2020. Despite a strict spring lockdown, it was inevitable that cases would rise once airports re-opened. Cyprus has been seeing new cases in triple digits for the last few weeks and a second tiered lockdown (Paphos and Limassol districts) is in place again until November 30th with all restaurants etc closed.
Current hospital admissions are around 80, deaths have increased to 38 and there have been almost 7000 confirmed cases, mainly in younger people, but sadly also in care homes which has increased the death toll.
Lockdown Measures to Combat Coronavirus in Cyprus - History from March 2020
Lockdown measures to combat Coronavirus in Cyprus have been very strict and made far stricter due to a small minority refusing to self-isolate and stay at home. The lockdown was extended twice in spring and lasted over 8 weeks before restrictions were lifted.
Back in March, we were only allowed out once per day for a set number of reasons and had to get permission via SMS. There was a curfew from 21.00 to 06.00 the following day, unless you were a key worker. Anyone breaking the lockdown rules and leaving home without permission was fined €300 on the spot and in some cases sent to prison for flouting the law!
The beautiful Akamas Peninsula
Currently inaccessible due to lockdown!
We could walk our dogs close to home and take exercise near to our homes, but we couldn't go further afield to enjoy the beautiful Cyprus countryside like the Akamas peninsula. We are lucky to live in a rural area, so could still enjoy the beautiful spring flowers and marvel at the incoming migrating birds like rollers, swallows and beeaters. Those in apartments in cities did not have that luxury, so tensions remained high, more so now in November when restrictions were re-imposed.
But the majority of people abided by the rules, only going for essential trips like food shopping - where the usual 2m rules apply to get in and out of the shops - and we did get on top of the virus very quickly.
Then came the new variants and we suffered several lockdowns and more hardship before getting back on top of the virus with a 3-pronged attack:
- HIGH levels of daily testing - up to 70,000 per day - all workers and school children being tested weekly
- Vaccination roll-out - now up to 50% of the population
- Movement restriction by requiring everyone to ask permission via SMS to leave their homes
Current Covid-19 Cases
We are given daily updates on the number of new cases, any deaths due to Covid-19 and the origin of those new cases.
As at May 28th, daily cases were down to 78 from nearly 900 a month ago and hospital numbers have dropped below 100 from almost 300 a month ago.
Freedom has returned with SMS permission no longer required and the curfew, currently 12.00-05.00 will be scrapped from June 10th 2021.
Coranavirus in Cyprus Summary
Pretty barn swallow - just arrived
While lockdown here in Cyprus has been very tough, we were lucky to have a summer in 2020 almost Covid-free. Now that restrictions have again been lifted and the vaccination roll-out gathers pace both here and around the world, we expect summer of 2021 to be equally Coronavirus-free and look forward to welcoming back visitors once their own countries allow restriction-free travel on return.
Gorgeous pink lantana
In the meantime, let me share some of the beautiful sights of Cyprus from migrating birds to simple flowers in bloom.
We hope to welcome you back to beautiful Cyprus very soon once the world has beaten Coronavirus.
Related Pages:
June 2020 Coronavirus in Cyprus
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