Cyprus continues to rank first among European countries when it comes to COVID-19 testing, with 24,196 tests per 100,000 people, according to recent data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). A total of 229,743 rapid tests were carried out during the week, from February 22 to 28, in the framework of a Ministry of Health program, yielding 809 cases with a positivity rate of 0.35%.
During the same period, 1,160 businesses and 4,531 employees were checked for compliance. Until now, 78,642 inoculations were carried out in Cyprus, 20,152 of which were completed in the period from February 22 to 28. Cyprus is ranked in the third place among Eu countries when it comes to the administration of at least on vaccine dose, according to the website OurWorldInData.

A Ministry of Health announcement notes that Cyprus entered on Monday the next stage of lifting restrictions, in line with Cabinet decisions taken on February 256. The epidemiological condition, albeit improved, continues to be at a breaking point and may easily deteriorate. The main goal is, by adopting a series of actions, to maintain the stability of indexes until a significant part of the population is inoculated in the next weeks, the Ministry adds.

With regard to mass testing of the general population and of employees, the Ministry says that antigen rapid tests are the main tool used since November 2020, in order to contain the spread of the virus in the community.

It is also noted that the Health Services of the Ministry of Health are constantly conducting checks on businesses, and probed 1,1160 businesses and 4,531 employees between February 22-26. During these checks, authorities have not detected cases of non-compliance with the relevant decrees and no fines were imposed.

In particular, authorities checked 141 barbershops or hairdressers with 206 employees, 51 beauty parlors with 86 employees, 181 supermarkets or grocery stores with 1,318 employees, 157 kiosks with 358 employees and 630 companies in the food industry with 2,563 employees.

The Ministry of Health says, moreover, that it continues implementing the National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19, having carried out a total of 20,152 vaccinations during the week of February 22-28, 2021. A total of 78,642 vaccinations were carried out in Cyprus, so far. The first dose was administered to 55,762 people and the second dose to 22,880 people, it is added.

Until February 26, Cyprus ranked third among the EU countries in terms of administering at least one vaccine dose, with an average of 8.7 doses per 100 people, the Ministry concludes, citing data from the website OurWorldInData.