The government on Wednesday announced the easing of Covid restrictions, including reopening hairdressers and beauticians on Monday and primary schools and the retail sector on February 8.

Cyprus ranks in the top 10 countries in a Covid Performance Index of almost 100 countries for their successful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Reuters.

Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said Wednesday that the Republic is aiming toward reaching the 100,000 mark in number of people vaccinated by the end of March.

The Open University of Cyprus (OUC) participates in a new research project entitled Instant: Intelligent platform for providing Staffing and Training in the Hotel Industry. The Instant project secured funding of approximately €800,000 in the framework of the Restart 2016-2020 Programme financed by the Cypriot Research Promotion Foundation, and has a duration of three years (2020-2023).

Plans to upgrade houses, making them more energy efficient, were presented today by Natasa Pilides, the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry.

Following the approval of the revised state budget the Finance Minister will begin as of Monday, 1 February the one-off payment to the companies that have been affected by the pandemic, aiming to cover their operating expenses and strengthen the liquidity of the market.

With lockdowns and Covid-19 restrictions across Europe, Cypriots were the busiest making video calls to chat to a relative or a friend during the pandemic.

The Health Ministry’s Department of Pharmacovigilance and Clinical Trials has so far received a total of 22 reports of possible adverse reactions to the coronavirus vaccine.

The health ministry is optimistic regarding the possibility of administering a gout drug called Colchicine as part of its protocol for treating Covid-19 patients, according to the head of the advisory committee on coronavirus Constantinos Tsioutis.

People over the age of 88 will be able to arrange vaccinations via the vaccination portal from Wednesday morning, the government announced on Tuesday.