Cyprus wakes up to more coronavirus cases

More cases in Cyprus were confirmed with the novel coronavirus on Thursday, while new guidelines have been issued on both sides of the divided island.

State health officials in the Republic of Cyprus said four more cases of the coronavirus were confirmed on Thursday, bringing the total to ten in the south, while three more tested positive in the north bringing the total to five.

Six infected people in the south remained in self-quarantine, while all others were isolated in hospitals. Turkish Cypriots media said four were German tourists in the same group while another person, described as a Turkish Cypriot male, had flown from the UK nine days ago.

Both sides of the divided island have updated their public health guidelines, including travel alerts, with the north expanding the list of sanctioned countries effective immediately and the south introducing new measures that go into effect on Saturday.

The UK has been bumped back up to category 2 in the south, meaning that travelers from that country will be required to remain in isolation and be monitored over the telephone for 14 days from their date of travel.

As the new guidelines take effect on Saturday, Knews understands that travelers arriving on Friday from the UK will still fall under category 3, meaning they will be advised to follow good hygiene practices and avoid going out unless absolutely necessary.

Parts of Greece also remained in category 2, along with Germany and France, while Italy remained in category 1 which calls for quarantine in a hospital facility or a private home in some cases.

Flights from Germany, France, and Italy have been banned in the north, after the states were added to a list of countries where inbound flights have been suspended.

A cruise ship with 800 Italians on board, which was turned away in Israel, was said to have anchored off Limassol, while local media in the south said no permission was granted to enter port. Additional reports said one female passenger may need medical assistance on the island, while it was not fully clear if she had respiratory or other coronavirus symptoms.

Social distancing measures remained in effect on both sides of the island, as experts said cases were likely to rise. There were also reports on both sides saying consumers were having a hard time finding a number of items on the shelves, including hand sanitizers and masks.

Officials have warned that masks are necessary for people who are sick, in order to avoid infecting others, while healthy people should't have to wear face masks.

Isolation separates sick people with a contagious disease from people who are not sick, while quarantine separates and restricts the movement of people who were exposed to a contagious disease while being monitored to determine whether or not they might become sick or develop any symptoms.

Story updated with more confirmed cases in the north