Filenews 3 March 2022 - by Marilena Panagi
Without SafePass in supermarkets, bakeries, kiosks and pharmacies, relaxations in gyms and other businesses, dancing with tests for all but free admission to all other places for those who have a valid vaccination certificate.
With the plan to readjust the requirements of SafePass for almost all areas and activities, as well as with suggestions for a series of other relaxed measures and restrictions that are now in force, the Minister of Health, Michalis Hadjipantelas, is going to the Council of Ministers today, while it is not excluded that the changes include the duration of the quarantine for cases. There is a great possibility that the government will officially start discussing the possibility of changing the validity time of SafePass, since in view of the summer it is now appropriate to study whether Cyprus will be harmonized in the coming period with the EU recommendations, which provide for a validity of 9 months after the second vaccine dose and a validity of 6 months (and not three) in the certificates of disease.
The package of recommendations, which the Minister of Health will put before the Ministry today, was approved yesterday by the members of the Advisory Scientific Committee by a majority, since as far as the plan of entry conditions is concerned, some of the scientists argued that people who hold a valid vaccination certificate should be exempted from any control with their position, however, not prevailing in the end, since the data recorded daily by the unit prevailed. epidemiological surveillance as well as by public hospitals and concern the percentages of vaccinated people who are infected with the virus and / or end up in hospitalization.
With this in mind and on the basis of the readjustment plan, the details of which will of course be finalized today by the Council of Ministers, vaccinated and unvaccinated will be required to test (48 and 24 hours respectively) only in high-risk areas where dancing is allowed and more than 150 people congregate.
In addition to this, citizens who do not have a history of vaccination or a valid vaccination certificate (with the validity period being determined today depending on the final decision of the Ministry), will be required in tests of 24, 48 or 72 hours depending on the level of risk of the place they enter and the vaccinated to be required only to present a valid vaccination certificate.
SafePass's requirements for entry into the workplace remain as they are for the time being and are expected to be re-evaluated in two weeks, while at weddings, christenings and other social events the allowed number of people will increase to 500 people. These events, however, are again divided into categories depending on the level of risk of the space in which they will take place and therefore the entry conditions are set out in the SafePass update plan.
The main feature of the readjustment plan is the abolition of the obligation for SafePass in supermarkets, bakeries, kiosks and pharmacies, while for retail stores will remain in force what is currently applied with the difference that the allowed number of people per square meter will be increased.
Relaxations are coming, if of course the recommendations made during yesterday's meeting of the Minister of Health with scientists in other fields are adopted. As we are informed, in gyms it is likely that the number of people allowed to exercise at the same time will be increased, while at the same time lifting the ban on the use of locker rooms in all sports areas.
Changes are also coming to the square/person ratios currently applied in the retail trade and as far as businesses in general are concerned, the obligation to disinfect after a case has been detected among employees is probably abolished.
Re-evaluation of the measures in 15 days
The final decisions on what will finally apply from next week will be taken today by the Cabinet while the minister of health and scientists have renewed their appointment in two weeks with the aim of reassessing the situation with a view to whether they allow it to epidemiological data to proceed with additional relaxations. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health will continue the process of revising all the health protocols that are now in force since it has been established that several of them have been implemented in the first months of the pandemic in 2020 and since then have not been revised.
Quarantine for cases decreases
According to what was discussed and agreed yesterday between the Minister of Health and scientists, the duration of the quarantine for people who are positive to the virus will be reduced from 10 days today to the 7th, with an obligation before releasing a negative test on the 7th day.
At the same time, it was decided that close contacts who have not been isolated from the virus-positive person (e.g. parents who are caring for a minor child, caregivers who care for people who do not self-serve, etc.) instead of remaining in confinement for 10+7 days, will leave isolation during the release of the case and continue until the 14th day to undergo tests.
At yesterday's meeting, the proposal that had been put on the table was to reduce the validity of the quarantine only for vaccinated people, however, it was then considered appropriate to have uniformity in what would be applied both to facilitate citizens and the doctors who monitor them.
