Cyprus will welcome vaccinated Brits from May 10 – despite country going into two week lockdown
CYPRUS is to welcome vaccinated Brits back from May 10, after initially hoping to open the borders to the UK from May 1.
However, the country has gone back into a two-week lockdown due to rising cases in the country.
Last week, the country reported 925 new daily cases - the highest the country has seen since the pandemic began.
Despite this, 65 countries will be allowed to visit Cyprus once again from next month as long as they have both jabs.
Travellers must upload a certificate of vaccination to the Cyprus Flight Pass website and fill out a mandatory form prior to travel, although anyone without both jabs can have a negative Covid test, taken no more than 72 hours before arrival.
Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios told : "We will inform our partners abroad that from 10 May, fully vaccinated people from the 65 countries we recently opened, can come to Cyprus without [Covid] tests and without quarantine, even if they are close contacts [of confirmed cases]."
Other countries along with the UK who will be allowed to visit include Switzerland, the UAE, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as all countries in the Schengen Area.
The new lockdown, in place from yesterday, will last until May 9.
The measures include a curfew from 9pm until 5am, and restrictions on travel including just one trip allowed outside of the house per day, with a request needed to be authorised by text message.
All meetings, both indoors and outdoors are banned, while restaurants can only operate delivery and takeaway.
The UK is yet to announce when and where holidays abroad can be this summer.
The government is to announce in the upcoming weeks which countries will be placed on the "green" list of the traffic light scheme.
The scheme, which hopes to allow holidays abroad to go ahead from May 17 with few restrictions, will rank countries depending on the risk they pose to the UK, including their own vaccine rollout and Covid situation.
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Only countries on the green list will be able to avoid quarantine - amber and red countries will have to home quarantine or quarantine at a hotel.
It is feared that just eight countries could initially be on the UK's green list, which would include Malta, Gibraltar, Iceland and Israel - and Cyprus may not make the cut.
It could also include the US, Australia, and New Zealand - all of which are closed to Brits right now.