Cyprus has promised to cover all holiday costs for any individual that tests positive for COVID-19 after travelling there.
A 100-bed hospital will cater exclusively to travellers who test positive and around 112 intensive care units fitted with 200 respirators will be reserved for the sickest patients. A 500-room ‘quarantine hotel’ will also be available for patients´ family members.
In a letter signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Transport, and Deputy Minister of Tourism, the government agreed to pay for accommodation, medication, and food for patients and their families which was made public on Wednesday.
Tourists “will only need to bear the cost of their airport transfer and repatriation flight”.
It is part of a package of measures aimed at drawing visitors back to the island, which relies heavily on tourism, accounting about 15 per cent of the country’s GDP last year alone.
All passengers will be made to undergo a test three days prior to departure, and they will be expected to present their test certificate before boarding their flight. Airports across Cyprus will reopen on June 9 to tourists from countries deemed as low risk, including Germany, Greece and Malta.
It is expected that passengers from Russia and the UK – which account for more than half of all visitors to the country – will be allowed to travel to the island from July.
European governments are reaching to an agreement to implement a new set of rules to allow cross border travel ahead of the peak European summer season as the outbreak comes under control.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the country has confirmed 939 infections and 17 deaths.