Health officials in the Republic of Cyprus have confirmed a new strain of the coronavirus found in the UK late last year has also been found on the island, with experts saying the new variant has a much higher infection rate.

Economic climate in Cyprus moved upward in December with businesses and consumers feeling upbeat due to the vaccine against the covid-19 virus, the University of Cyprus’ Economic Research Centre has said.

The Cyprus tourism sector marked an 85.1% drop in revenue over the first ten months of 2020, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat) on Wednesday show.

More than 850,000 beneficiaries have signed up with the general health scheme (Gesy), the health insurance organisation (HIO) said on Wednesday as it hailed the scheme’s first 18 months of operation as a success.

The pandemic in Cyprus in 2020 can be generally divided into four stages.

People over 80 who are not care home residents will start receiving Covid jabs after January 6, as vaccinations move into the second stage, the health ministry said on Tuesday.

The holiday period appears to have taken its toll on the local coronavirus pandemic as Cyprus announced a record high 751 new cases on Monday, with the Health Ministry following up on Tuesday with stricter restrictions just days before New Year’s Eve.

2020 was the most difficult year in recent times for tourism after the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic, chairman of the Paphos hotels association Thanos Michaelides said on Tuesday.

The Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the umbrella organisation representing the majority of locally-based companies in the maritime sector, wants the international community to engage more actively to combat piracy off the Gulf of Guinea.

The University of Nicosia placed #126 in the Emerging Europe and Central Asia Region, in which over 3,300 universities operate, according to the QS World University Rankings 2021