14 new coronavirus cases in Cyprus

Cyprus detected 14 new coronavirus cases after conducting 3,775 tests on Wednesday.

According to the Health Ministry, eight of the new cases involved contacts of other known cases. Two of the eight contacts were part of a cluster formed at a beach party attended by some 30 people. Additional positive cases have emerged from the beach party in recent days, the Ministry said, with a concrete number to be made public on Thursday.

Two of Wednesday’s new cases involved people who took the initiative to get tested, with one involving an asymptomatic employee of the PIP plastics factory who was checked for the virus along with the rest of the staff at the company’s initiative after two positive cases had emerged there.

Four more cases were detected at Cyprus airports. Two are a local couple permanently living in the UK, from where they arrived on Tuesday for recreational purposes. Both are asymptomatic. The third arrival who tested positive, also asymptomatic, was a Greek national who flew into the island on Wednesday from Thessaloniki, while the fourth is an Austrian national who arrived from Chania on Wednesday.

The 14 new cases brought the total in the Republic of Cyprus to 1,291. Currently, three coronavirus patients are being treated at the Famagusta General Hospital, one of which is in the ICU.

Arrivals from category C countries must repeat Covid test before ending self-isolation

Arrivals to Cyprus from category C countries must undergo a molecular coronavirus test 48 hours before the end of their 14-day self-isolation at their own expense, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday.

A decree issued Wednesday by Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou enforced the requirement for arrivals to the island from countries currently listed in category C of the island’s three-tier risk-based system to shoulder the cost of a coronavirus test two days prior to the completion of their quarantine period.

The maximum price for the RT-PCR test has been set at 85 euros, the Health Ministry said.

It added that results of the test must be forwarded to the email address monada@mphs.moh.gov.cy, while those in self-isolation are permitted to terminate their quarantine if the results are negative.