Cyprus eased its travel restrictions and is now allowing entry from Lebanon after adding it to its cautious list of “higher-risk” countries.
After several months of closure caused by the global health crisis, the Republic of Cyprus has reopened its airport for a specific set of countries, distributed under the two categories “A” and “B,” according to each country’s epidemiological data.
Lebanon, which now has 1,510 confirmed COVID-19 cases (518 are active) and 32 fatalities, has been placed with the countries under Category B, which denotes “higher-risk.”
Cyprus said that travelers arriving from countries under this category will be required to present proof of a negative COVID-19 test that has been conducted within 72 hours of travel, or on arrival, if the test is unavailable in the country of departure.
Arrivals from Category A, or low-risk countries, on the other hand, do not need to provide proof of negative test results.
The Health Minister of Cyprus, Constantinos Ioannou, explained in a press conference on Friday that if COVID-19 cases arise in a country in the first category, it will be downgraded to Category B.
On the other hand, if a higher-risk country’s infection rates decline, it will be promoted to Category A. Cyprus will update its lists on a weekly basis.
It’s worth mentioning that the country will still conduct 300 random COVID-19 checks on arrivals, every day, as an additional precautionary measure, considering that Cyprus expects to receive around 1,500 daily arrivals.
“This is to get a better understanding of the situation and to review our decisions concerning some countries, if necessary,” Health Minister Ioannou said.
At the time of writing, arrivals from over 29 countries in addition to Lebanon can enter Cyprus.
On a similar note, Lebanon will reopen its airport for commercial flights on July 1st, albeit with certain limitations.
Flights from Dubai will be expected to land in Beirut then onwards as Emirates Airlines has announced that it is resuming flights to Lebanon.
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