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03-07-2021 14:17 |
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Clarifications
on the decisions of the Council of Ministers - July 2, 2021 |
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Pillar 1: Incentives to encourage and accelerate the vaccination
plan Within the framework of efforts
to speed up the
vaccination program and to encourage citizens, especially of younger ages to
proceed with the vaccination against COVID-19, the following
incentives have been decided at this stage: 1. Vacation allowance to those vaccinated from July 15 to August 31. The details of the vacation allowance plan will be announced by the competent Deputy Ministry of Tourism on Monday, July 5. 2. A five-day honorary leave to
soldiers who have been vaccinated or will be vaccinated until August 31st
2021. The honorary leave will be granted both to the soldiers
of the 2020 ESSO, as well as to the conscripts of the 2021 ESSO. The decision
was taken, after a suggestion by the Minister of Defence Mr. Charalambos
Petrides, and more details will be given in the coming period by the Ministry
of Defence. 3. Aiming to encourage the
vaccination of employees, in order to ensure that the workplaces will
continue to operate as safely as possible, it was decided to grant a special leave of absence on
the days of vaccination to employees of the public, wider public and private
sector. These days (one for the vaccination with the
Johnson&Johnson single dose vaccine and two for the vaccination with
AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines) will be extra and will not be
deducted from the employee's annual leave of absence. The same applies in the case of
working parents/legal
guardians of minors who will get vaccinated. It is noted that
the parent/legal guardian who will accompany his/her minor child for
vaccination must present to work a copy of the child’s Vaccination Card for
confirmation. Pillar 2: Authorization of the Minister of Health to continue
the consultation with Public Law organizations and private organizations and
businesses With the main aim of finding additional incentives to
encourage young individuals aged 18-30 to get vaccinated, the
Council of Ministers authorized the Minister of Health to proceed in the
coming days to consultations with private and Public Law organizations, as
well as with private businesses and organized economic bodies. The Minister
of Health, after the completion of the consultation, will present to the
Council of Ministers at its next meeting the framework of suggestions for
discussion and/or decision making. Pillar 3: Stricter measures in places of increased assemblage
and increased risk of virus transmission and in places where influxes of
positive cases have emerged According to the data of the
Tracing Unit, in the last few days, large
numbers of positive cases have been recorded in places of increased
assemblage, such as bars, clubs, entertainment venues, etc.,
as well as in social
events, such as weddings, graduation parties, birthday
parties, etc. Indicatively, positive case chains connected to entertainment
venues amount to more than 50 individuals, and this makes the task of tracing
difficult. In many cases, the necessary cooperation of positive cases in
declaring their contacts does not exist, and as a result, valuable time is wasted and the
likelihood of the virus spreading in the community increases. Therefore, in order to minimize
the creation of large chains of positive cases, but also to give the right to
all citizens, vaccinated or not, to socialize safely, the Council of
Ministers decided the following: 1. As of July 9th, the possession of a SafePass is
required in indoor and outdoor spaces, where there is an increased risk of
transmission and more than 20 persons congregate (i.e.
work places, bars, clubs, weddings, graduation and birthday parties, etc.). It is recalled that the
SafePass is required for individuals aged 12 and over and the preconditions
for obtaining it are: the possession of a certificate of completion of the
vaccination scheme, or the possession of proof of recovery from COVID-19 in
the last six months, or the possession of a negative PCR or rapid antigen
test result. It is clarified that as
of July 9, and in cases of SafePass possession with a negative PCR or rapid
antigen test, the test shall be valid for 72 hours. 2. From July 9th
until July 20th, entrance
to football games, at 50% of stadium capacity, will only be allowed
for individuals who have completed their vaccination scheme
or have been vaccinated
with the 1st dose of the vaccine and three weeks have elapsed,
or for individuals holding
a negative PCR test result valid for 72 hours, or for individuals who have been infected
with COVID-19 during the last six months. The 50% of space
capacity applies
with the same criteria
to cinemas, theatres and concerts. 3. As of July 21st, entrance to football games, at 75%
of stadium capacity, will be allowed only for individuals who have
completed their vaccination scheme and for individuals who have contracted
COVID-19 in the last six months. The 75% of space capacity applies with the same criteria to
cinemas, theatres and concerts. 4. As of August 1st 2021,
passengers who are
Cypriot citizens and permanent residents of the Republic of Cyprus
must follow the protocols that apply for all passengers, unless they have
been vaccinated with the 1st dose of the vaccine. Specifically, only individuals vaccinated with the
1st dose of the vaccine will be allowed to undergo a molecular
test at the airports of the Republic upon arrival in Cyprus. For example, if a Cypriot
citizen or a permanent resident of the Republic of Cyprus travels to Cyprus
from a country of the Orange
Category (one negative PCR test), he/she will be able to undergo a PCR test
at the airports upon arrival, only if he/she has been vaccinated with
at least the 1st dose of the vaccine, or if he/she possesses a
certificate of recovery from COVID-19 in the last six months.
If neither one of the above conditions applies, the passenger must present a valid for 72 hours negative
PCR test result from his/her country of origin. Respectively, passengers who
are Cypriot citizens and permanent residents of the Republic of Cyprus
traveling to Cyprus from a Red
Category country (two negative PCR tests), will be able to undergo one of the two PCR tests at
airports upon arrival, only if they have been vaccinated with at least the 1st
dose of the vaccine, or if they possess a certificate of recovery from
COVID-19 in the last six months. The 2nd test will
be performed after 72 hours have elapsed from the time of arrival at the
passengers’ own expense. If neither one of the above conditions applies, the
passenger must present a
valid for 72 hours negative PCR test result from his/her country of origin,
and undergo a 2nd test upon arrival at the airports of the
Republic at his/her own expense. Minors aged 12-15 and
individuals aged 16 and over who have serious health problems and thus cannot
be vaccinated, are exempted
from this decision. Pillar 4: Intensification of the information campaign for public awareness concerning
vaccinations, focusing on the younger ages. The purpose of this decision is
to provide valid information to the public about the benefits of vaccination,
according to scientific data, in order to allay concerns about the safety and
effectiveness of the vaccines. Pillar 5: Stricter controls and supervision of the implementation of the protocols
and health guidelines. The checks by the Police and the competent Ministries
will be intensified in the following period, in order to determine the degree
of observance of the decisions and of the health protocols, especially in
areas of high congregation, where the risk of transmission of the virus is
increased. In addition to the above, the
Council of Ministers decided to abolish
the provision of free rapid antigen testing as of August 1st.
Minors aged 12-15 and individuals aged 16 and over, who have serious health
problems and thus cannot be vaccinated, are exempted from this decision. It
is clarified that the program of the Ministry of Health will continue after
August 1st, however, other than the two groups of the population
that are excluded, the
cost of undergoing the tests will be borne by the citizen. It
is noted that along with the program of the Ministry of Health, citizens who
wish to undergo a rapid antigen test, still have the option to do so in
private clinical laboratories and pharmacies that meet the criteria of the
Ministry of Health (relevant announcements regarding the list are issued
regularly). More details on the cost and the procedure that will be followed
will be issued in the coming days. Finally, it is noted that the
above will be regulated by a Decree that will be issued next week. (MPO/NG) |
