Tourism-dependent Greece and Cyprus discussed requesting vaccination certificates from travellers arriving in the two countries, Greek Prime Minister Kyriacos Mitsotakis said on Monday, following a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia.

The number of people who travelled to Cyprus fell by 79.9% in 2020 compared to 2019 while people departing from the country also recorded a drop of 80.1%, data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CyStat), on Monday, show.

The National Vaccination Plan for Covid-19 implementation continues with more appointments as of tomorrow 9 February 2021, at 9 am. Access to the Vaccination Portal will be granted to people belonging to the 75-79 age group, who have not arranged an appointment the previous weeks or have not received the vaccine yet. The appointments relate to the period from 9 to 20 February.

Cyprus received on Monday the first batch of 7,200 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine, of which the island expects to receive around 70,000 doses by the end of the month.

Many borrowers who opted to use a scheme suspending loan payments for nine months in a bid to cope with the financial fallout of the coronavirus were now restructuring them, it emerged on Friday.

Applications have opened for nine new incentive schemes aimed at promoting special interest tourism while enhancing sustainability, the deputy ministry of tourism said on Monday.

The opening on Monday of the retail trade sector after almost a month-long lockdown in Cyprus comes with big sales. And with shop-keepers already sending out thousands of electronic messages in a bid to lure clientele.

The Republic of Cyprus entered on Monday a second phase of relaxing lockdown measures for Covid-19, including the reopening of retail stores, shopping malls, and schools.

In view of Monday’s reopening of the retail trade and business sectors a total of 208,000 antigen rapid tests for the coronavirus were carried out in Cyprus between February 1-7.

Cyprus maintained its high ranking among EU member states in terms of coronavirus population testing, with the island counting 1.5 million tests conducted since the outbreak of the pandemic last March.