Filenews 24 January 2022 - by TheanoThiopoulou
Changes in the management of the pandemic are being promoted at a European level and aim at withdrawing the generalized restrictive measures that had been imposed so far to stop COVID-19. The EU's Council of Ministers plans to approve on Tuesday the abolition of the transmission map as a guide to introduce restrictions on movement between countries. According to an article in the newspaper Naftemporiki it is a change aimed at facilitating mobility and regaining a certain normality. The imposition of measures, such as requiring a negative test or quarantine, will no longer depend on the geographical origin of the traveller, but on the personal certificate of COVID. People who have been vaccinated, who have overcome the disease or have a negative test, will be able to move freely. Brussels considers that this change is in line with the high vaccination rate and the speed with which the current variant of the virus is spreading. Despite the rapid escalation of infections, the number of hospitalizations remained relatively under control, at least in countries with high vaccination rates.
However, according to the decision that is expected to be approved on Tuesday, people who can prove that they have been fully vaccinated, who have overcome the disease or are showing a negative test, should not be forced to undergo new tests or quarantine, regardless of the epidemiological situation of their country of origin. The new directive, which updates the one adopted in 2020 in the early stages of the pandemic, will introduce "an individualised approach and not the geographical area of origin of travellers", according to the text agreed on Friday by the European ambassadors.
On 21 December 2021, the European Commission adopted rules concerning the EU's digital COVID certificate, according to which the validity of vaccination certificates for travel purposes within the EU is set at 9 months (270 days). The validity should be calculated from the date of administration of the last dose of the initial vaccination cycle. In addition, the rules on the registration of vaccination certificates will be adapted to take into account booster doses. The booster doses will be recorded as follows:
⦁ 3/3 for booster dose after an initial dosing vaccination cycle
⦁ 2/1 for a booster dose after an initial single-dose vaccination cycle or for a dose of a two-dose vaccine administered to a convalescent patient. The new rules will apply from 1 February 2022.
Changes in Cyprus as of March 1st
Further facilitation of travel to Cyprus from abroad for those who have been vaccinated and for convalescents is provided for in the new protocol of operation of the destination that will come into force from March 1st. The protocol, which has long been requested by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism, slightly changes the categorization of countries since the orange category is abolished, while from the changes that were decided, the abolition of the issuance of a special permit for travel to Cyprus for those coming from countries of the grey category, if they are vaccinated, stands out.
Certificate of disease
The period of validity of the postulated disease is reduced from 180 days to 90 days. This change will take effect from 31 January 2022 and will apply to all holders of the certificate, regardless of whether it was issued before that date. It should be noted that the disease certificate will continue to state a validity of 180 days from the date of the first positive laboratory test and can be used by citizens for travel purposes. Please note that in case of travel, the passenger should consult the website or the Re-open EU (reopen.europa.eu) website or the national authorities of the country of arrival to be informed of the acceptable validity of the certificate, which is likely to be 180 days or less in other countries.
