UK, SOUTH ON TRNC’S ‘RED LIST’
● 133 NEW POSITIVE CASES REPORTED ON THURSDAY ● UK TRAVELLERS MUST SPEND 10 DAYS IN QUARANTINE REGARDLESS OF VACCINATION STATUS ● PUBLIC HAVE TO SUBMIT NEGATIVE PCR TEST TO ENTER SOME VENUES
TRAVELLERS from the UK will have to spend 10 days in quarantine regardless of their Covid-19 vaccination status, after the country was added to the TRNC’s “red list” on Thursday evening.
The change will come into effect on Monday, July 12. Arrivals will also need to submit a pre-departure negative PCR test result not more than 72 hours old.
Russia and South Cyprus have also been moved from “orange” to “red”, but the border crossing points between the two sides of Cyprus remain open.
If the Covid situation in the UK deteriorates further, it could be moved to the “dark red” category, under which only TRNC citizens would be allowed in.
The decisions were taken by the Health Ministry’s Communicable Diseases High Committee following concern over the latest surge in cases.
Health Ministry Undersecretary Duriye Deren Oygar said that while South Cyprus has been included among the “red-coded” countries “internal border crossing rules” still apply.
“There is no change to the current crossing procedures,” she said. “However, there may be stricter testing in the coming days. The bicommunal Health Committee will come together and make an evaluation soon.”
Under the rules for crossings agreed jointly last month, a sevenday negative PCR or antigen test result is sufficient to cross between the two sides.
The Health Ministry has also beefed up its messaging on Covid19, saying that businesses and other venues could face “criminal proceedings” under communicable diseases laws if they do not implement mask, social distancing and hygiene rules, after a record 133 new positive cases were recorded on Thursday from 13,761 tests, which was also a record.
A breakdown of Thursday’s figures showed that there were 51 cases in the Girne region, including
24 in central Girne.
Lefkoşa had 40 new cases, followed by the Gazimağusa district (13), Güzelyurt (five) and İskele (one).
There were 46 people receiving treatment in the pandemic hospital and one person in intensive care, although the number of hospitalisations and those in intensive care remains far lower when compared to earlier in the year.
A weekly comparison of Covid-19 case numbers showed that the total number of cases was up 77 per cent in the week to July 6, and that the test positivity rate has risen by 67.5 per cent.
The average number of daily cases per 100,000 people has almost doubled in the Girne district, from 14.3 to 27.9, the highest rate in the TRNC.
Average daily cases per 100,000 people have gone up from 10 to 15.8 in Lefkoşa, three to 12.5 in Güzelyurt, and 5.6 to 9.9 in Gazimağusa. However the rates have fallen from 10.1 to one in Lefke, and from three to two in the İskele region.
New measures have also been announced that require members of the public to submit negative Covid test results in order to enter a number of hospitality, entertainment, gambling, sports venues and places of worship.
The list includes: hotels and casinos; the indoor areas of restaurants, patisseries, cafes and taverns; bars and clubs; the indoor areas of coffee shops, coffee houses, cafeterias and clubhouses; internet cafes; betting shops; night clubs; theatre, concert, and exhibition shows by professional artists; cinemas; outdoor and indoor sports halls; swimming pools; boxing, wrestling, and close combat sport competitions; competitions to be held outdoors; indoor sports halls (fitness, individual); amusement parks, tombala and similar activities; and places of worship.
“A negative PCR/antigen test conducted within the last seven days for vaccinated people, and a negative antigen test conducted within the last 72 hours for unvaccinated people will be requested upon entry by the afore-mentioned sectors,” the Communicable Diseases High Committee said. Places such as shops, chemists and supermarkets are not on the list.
Meanwhile the UK has also been placed on South Cyprus’s “red list”, a change that took effect on Thursday, July 8.
“It is noted that passengers coming from Red Category countries be required to: a) undergo a PCR laboratory test within 72 hours prior to departure proving a negative PCR result and b) undergo a laboratory test upon their arrival in the Republic of Cyprus,” a statement from the South’s Interior Ministry said.
“The examination cost will be borne by themselves and in addition, such persons should remain in self-isolation until the test result is issued.”
Only “Cypriot citizens and family members (alien spouses and their underage children), persons legally residing in the Republic, and persons entitled to enter the Republic under the Vienna Convention” are allowed to travel to the South from Red Category countries.
They must “remain in mandatory self-isolation for 72 hours upon arrival and after the end of the 72-hour period they must undergo another PCR test, at their own expense” the stament added.
The TRNC-based British Residents Society said it has been in discussions with the British High Commission in South Nicosia in an “attempt to clarify some of the implications” of the Greek Cypriot administration’s decision to categorise the UK as red.
“The advice given by the British High Commission is [that] a TRNC Residency visa confers no right of entry into the Republic of Cyprus [ROC],” a statement from the BRS said.
“It is not known whether you should for the moment plan and expect to remain in selfisolation within the ROC until the test result is issued.
“It is not known how long a test result will take to arrive, or how it will arrive, presumably by e-mail?
“But the period of self-isolation required by the ROC is 72 hours. It is not known if the ROC authorities will choose to apply a requirement to complete self-isolation within the ROC, to a traveller intending to immediately travel onto the TRNC.
“It is not known how the ROC authorities intend to manage/supervise the period of selfisolation if you were to be required to complete this within the ROC.
“It is not known who would pay for the period spent in selfisolation, but it would be prudent to budget some money for a cost involved.
“It is unclear at the current time how you will be treated if you choose to highlight your intention to immediately travel onto the TRNC.”
The BRS also said it had received a statement from the British High Commission regarding the British government’s announcement that fully vaccinated UK residents returning to England from “Amber” list destinations will no longer have to self-isolate from July 19 onwards.
“There is currently no information about travelling from an Amber list country if you are a resident there,” the High Commission statement said.
“The UK has not yet approved Sinovac [vaccine] and currently, it would not matter, as it is unclear if the provision would apply to residents in Amber list countries.”
The latest developments led to some expats writing on social media that they felt “trapped” in the TRNC.