Passengers arriving in Cyprus from the United Kingdom must automatically self-isolate for 14-days from Monday after a potent new COVID-19 strain was discovered, the Health Ministry said Sunday.
But Cyprus has opted against an outright ban on flights from the UK as other European Union countries have done.
The ministry, in a statement, said the new travel restrictions come into effect from 6 am local time on Monday 21 December.
It clarified that quarantine could be limited to 10 days if a COVID-19 test proved negative after that period.
“Following the discovery of a new strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the United Kingdom, to protect public health, until more information is available from the scientific community, passengers arriving at airports from the UK should stay in self-isolate for 14 days,” said the Cypriot Health Ministry.
It said the measure is supplementary to restrictions already in place for UK arrivals such as the presenting a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours.
Cyprus also conducts random testing of arrivals at Larnaca and Paphos airports.
Cypriot authorities categorise countries according to their coronavirus risk status, currently, no European country is on its safe travel list where no test is required for entry.
The UK is a key market for Cyprus being its largest source of tourists while there is a sizeable British expat community on the island.
“The data is being evaluated by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Coronavirus, and any new suggestions that may arise will be announced,” said the Health Ministry.
European countries started banning flights coming from the UK on Sunday as the government in London warned that a potent new strain of the virus was “out of control”.
Following the example of the Netherlands, where a ban on all UK passenger flights came into effect on Sunday, a German government source said Berlin, too, was considering a similar move as “a serious option” for flights from both Britain and South Africa.
The Dutch ban came into effect from 6:00 am (0500 GMT) and will last until January 1.
And neighbouring Belgium also said it was suspending flight and train arrivals from Britain from midnight.
The moves come as around a third of England’s population entered a Christmas lockdown and UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new strain of virus was “out of control”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said the day before that millions of Britons would have to cancel their Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly.
Speaking on Sky News, Hancock said the situation was “deadly serious.”
