18/05/2021 11:28
Cyprus Ministry of Health placed Slovakia in red category and Iceland in green, based on a new epidemiological risk assessment of countries. The new changes come into force Thursday, May 20.
According to a Health Ministry press release, the categorisation for EU and European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, including Switzerland) countries into green, orange and red zones is based on assessment by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
With regard to third countries (United Kingdom, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Belarus, Qatar, Serbia, United States of America, Armenia, Georgia, Bahrain) as well as those countries included in the updated list of the European Council Recommendation 2021/89 for the gradual lifting of temporary restrictions for non-essential travel within the EU, these are evaluated epidemiologically by the Ministry of Health and are categorised into the Green, Orange and Red categories.
The following categorisation of countries, based on the epidemiological risk assessment, is extremely dynamic and may be modified at any moment as the pandemic evolves and the epidemiological data changes. For this reason, new data will be announced and the list of countries will be updated frequently.
Green Category countries – Low risk countries at current stage
Third countries: 1) Australia, 2) New Zealand, 3) Singapore, 4) Saudi Arabia, 5) South Korea, 6) Israel.
It is noted that passengers coming from the Green Category countries are not required to hold a COVID-19 test certificate or self-isolate.
EEA countries: Iceland
Orange Category countries - Countries with possibly low risk but greater uncertainty compared to the Green Category
European Union member states: 1) Portugal, 2) Ireland, 3) Finland, 4) Malta,
Schengen countries: Norway
EEA: Iceland
Third countries: 1) China (including Hong Kong and Macau), 2) United Kingdom, 3) Thailand.
It is noted that passengers coming from Orange Category countries shall be required to undergo a PCR laboratory test within 72 hours prior to departure and to possess a certificate showing a negative PCR result.
It is also clarified that passengers from Orange Category countries, falling into the following categories, may undergo the molecular examination upon arrival in the Republic:
Cypriot citizens and family members (alien spouses and their underage children)
Persons legally residing in the Republic,
Persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention,
Persons, irrespective of nationality, whose countries of residence (Orange category) do not provide a laboratory testing service, upon substantiation and following an announcement by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Cyprus.
It is noted that the examination cost will be borne by themselves and in addition, such persons shall remain in self-isolation until the test result is issued.
Red Category countries – Increased risk countries compared to the Green and Orange Categories:
European Union member states: 1) Austria, 2) Belgium, 3) Bulgaria, 4) France, 5) Croatia, 6) Luxembourg, 7) Romania, 8) Spain, 9) Italy, 10) Greece, 11) Netherlands, 12) Hungary, 13) Poland, 14) Denmark, 15) Slovenia, 16) Czech Republic, 17) Estonia, 18) Latvia, 19) Lithuania, 20) Sweden, 21) Germany 22/Slovakia < >Small states: 1) Andorra, 2) Monaco, 3) Vatican City, 4) San Marino
Schengen members: 1) Switzerland, 2) Liechtenstein,
Third countries: 1) Rwanda, 2) Russia, 3) United Arab Emirates, 4) Ukraine, 5) Jordan, 6) Lebanon, 7) Egypt, 8) Belarus, 9) Qatar, 10) Serbia, 11) United States of America, 12) Armenia, 13) Georgia, 14) Bahrein.
Cypriot citizens and family members (alien spouses and their underage children),
Persons legally residing in the Republic,
Persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention.
In such case, persons falling within the categories 1-3 above must remain in mandatory self-isolation for 72 hours upon arrival and after the end of the 72-hour period they must undergo another PCR test, at their own expense. If the repeat test is negative, they can then terminate their isolation. The test result must be sent to the following email address: [email protected].
Grey Category countries (Special Permission):
Countries that are not mentioned in the aforementioned categories (green, orange and red) are considered to belong in the Grey Category (Special Permission). For the Grey Category countries, entry into the Republic of Cyprus is only allowed for the following categories of passengers:
Cypriot citizens and family members (alien spouses and their underage children),
European citizens and citizens of European Economic Area countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) and Switzerland,
Persons legally residing in the Republic,
Persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention,
Third country nationals who are allowed to enter the Republic of Cyprus following a special permission from the Republic, as this is defined in the Quarantine Decree (N.9) of 2021, as this is modified each time.
It is noted that passengers coming from countries of this Category shall be required to undergo a laboratory test at a certified lab within 72 hours prior to departure for Cyprus and to possess a certificate showing a negative PCR result. Excluding category number 2 above, the rest of the passengers may undergo the laboratory test upon their arrival in the Republic of Cyprus, at their own expense.
Passengers arriving in the Republic of Cyprus from the Grey Category countries (Special Permission) shall remain in mandatory self-isolation or mandatory quarantine for a period of fourteen (14) days or alternatively, in mandatory self-isolation or mandatory quarantine for a period of seven (7) days provided that they undergo another Covid-19 test (at their own expense) on the 7th day and the result comes back negative. The test result must be sent to the following email address: [email protected].
It is underlined that all passengers, regardless of country category, shall be obliged to submit an application for the CyprusFlightPass within 24 hours prior to their departure flight. Moreover, in order to insure public health and the monitoring of the epidemiological situation, a sample molecular laboratory testing of passengers on selected arriving flights will be carried out.
It is noted that the above categorization of countries shall take effect on 13th May 2021.
Conditions for vaccinated passengers
The Ministry of Health is also clarifying what applies from 10 May for vaccinated passengers arriving in the Republic of Cyprus:
1) Persons regardless of nationality, holding a valid vaccination certificate for COVID-19 and arriving in Cyprus from abroad, regardless of the country of departure, will be exempted for entry purposes from the obligation to perform laboratory tests, as well as the obligation to, provided that the following conditions are met: 1. Hold a valid vaccination certificate from the following countries: (i) the Member States of the European Union (including Cyprus); (ii) the countries of the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway); (iii) Switzerland, (iv) Israel, (v) the United Kingdom, (vi) Russia, (vii) the United Arab Emirates, (viii) Saudi Arabia, (ix) Ukraine, (x) Jordan, (xi) Lebanon, (xii) Egypt, (xiii) Belarus, (xiv) Serbia, (xv) Qatar, (xvi) Bahrain, (xvii) the United States of America, (xviii) Armenia, (xix) Georgia, (xx) Canada, and (xxi) Kuwait.
2. They have been vaccinated with either one of the approved vaccines of the European Medicines Agency (Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen) or with the Sputnik V vaccine and have completed the vaccination regimen.
It is noted that in the case of two-dose vaccines the person should have been vaccinated with both doses, while in the case of the Janssen vaccine (single-dose vaccine) 14 days should have elapsed between the dose of the vaccine and the date of travel. More information is available at https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/en/vaccinated-passengers.
It also emphasises that all passengers, regardless of the category of countries, including those holding a valid vaccination certificate must submit an application to CyprusFlightPass within 24 hours before the departure of their flight. In addition, for the purposes of ensuring public health and surveillance of the epidemiological picture, the Ministry of Health may conduct sample COVID-19 laboratory molecular testing on passengers (including those holding a certificate of vaccination) of selected flights.