Health Ministry revises risk-based categorization of countries

The Health Ministry’s epidemiological surveillance and infectious disease control unit released on Monday a revised list of countries separated into two categories on the basis of their epidemiological risk.

The categorization of countries into groups A and B affects the procedure that visitors travelling to Cyprus need to undergo in order to enter the country, with just incoming travellers from category B countries required to show proof of a negative coronavirus test conducted within 72 hours before boarding.

According to the announcement additional checks upon arrival will be conducted on passengers of selected flights.

Category A: currently low-risk countries

Countries included in category A are those with an effective reproductive number of less than 1 and/or a small number of new cases (less than 1 for every 100,000 people per day) and/or a low or very low coronavirus mortality rate (less than 5-10 per 100,000 people) and/or at least satisfactory lab testing (over 3,000 tests per 100,000 people) and/or the classification by the WHO of the country as one with sporadic cases or a cluster of cases.

These are: Australia, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, Japan, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia, and South Korea.

Category B: greater risk compared to category A

Countries in Category B are those with an effective reproduction rate (Rt) of more than 1 and/or daily new diagnoses that are over 1 person per 100,000 inhabitants and/or a mortality rate of over 10 people per 100,000 and/or limited lab testing for coronavirus.

These countries are: Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and the United Arab Emirates.