According to Mr. Karousos, the Council of Ministers approved the action plan submitted by the Health Ministry and its epidemiological unit. The plan included two lists containing a total of 19 countries and a two-phase timeframe aiming to re-establish air connectivity with these countries. The first phase will commence on June 9th until June 19th and the second one on June 20th onwards.

The list of countries has been drafted after evaluating their epidemiological data.

The first list includes: Greece, Malta, Bulgaria, Norway, Austria, Finland, Slovenia, Hungary, Israel, Denmark, Germany, Slovakia and Lithuania.

The second list includes: Switzerland, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Estonia and the Czech Republic.

The Minister of Transport said that during the first phase, passengers from countries included in both lists will board the plane after presenting a negative Covid-19 test result, taken from a certified lab 72 hours (3 days) before their departure.

He further added that Cypriot citizens and other permanent residents have the option to take a test for Covid-19 upon their arrival on the island, but will be required to stay in self-isolation until the test results are issued.

During the second phase, passengers from countries included in the first list, will not be required to take a Covid-19 test, while passengers from countries included in the second list will be called to present a negative test result on the virus taken from a certified lab 72 hours (3 days) before their departure.

Moreover, Karousos confirmed that travel restrictions will continue to apply for countries not included in the two lists, except for Cypriot citizens, permanent residents or people with a special permit to visit Cyprus. These people will be asked to present a negative Covid-19 test issued by a certified lab and taken three days before their departure or they could take a test on arrival. However, they will be called to self-quarantine for two weeks.

Finally, the Minister said that the epidemiological unit continues to evaluate global epidemiological data and will include more countries in the two lists accordingly. He also announced the termination of mandatory quarantine for all people in self-isolation in state designated areas as of Monday, May 25th. These people were allowed to return to their homes where they must complete the remainder of their self-isolation period.