NICOSIA, Cyprus – Cyprus seeks to save a grim tourist season by boasting that five of the approximately 200,000 tourists who spent their holidays in an island country in the eastern Mediterranean this summer have experienced symptoms of COVID-19.
Cypriot Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios said the five had gained loose medical attention and were sent home without symptoms, in line with Cyprus’ commitment to accommodation, food, beverages and medicines for those who contracted a coronavirus while on holiday on the island. .
The country will also raise the prices of patients’ relatives or traveling with them. Perdios attributes the low number of COVID-19 cases among tourists to the strict fitness protocols that have been implemented over several months to verify incoming passengers looking for COVID-19.
The Cypriot government has placed countries in separate categories in their coronavirus infection rates, requiring passengers arriving from category “B” countries to download a medical certificate stating that they are virus-free 72 hours before boarding a plane bound for Cyprus.
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Perdios said Cyprus’ low COVID-19 infection rate made it a safer holiday destination than many neighboring countries. As of Friday, Cyprus had 1,565 cases of coronavirus and 29 deaths.
“Our purpose is to bring tourists who don’t have the virus here and send them home without getting it here,” Perdios said.
Tourism contributes to 13% of the Cypriot economy, while this year’s arrivals are expected to fall by almost 80% compared to a record in 2019.
Perdios said a positive note is that tourist arrivals from Germany and Austria have declined less than expected.