The health ministry on Monday urged people to stick to the same social distancing bubbles as regards the rule setting a maximum of ten people for gatherings at homes.

The Covid-19 vaccine is the best development we could have because there is currently an outbreak of the pandemic in many countries all over the world,  professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the Medical School of the University of Cyprus, Dr. Petros Karayiannis has told the Cyprus News  Agency (CNA).

Cyprus is relying on rapid testing schemes to get ahead of the pandemic after authorities said antigen tests will no longer need confirmation through more exact PCR tests.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades received on Monday his first of two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine at a suburb of Nicosia, calling on vaccine doubters and deniers to come on board.

The surge in coronavirus patients has begun to put intense pressure on the healthcare system, with the Health Ministry and State Health Services (Okypy) already working on a plan to restructure how hospitals will deal with the steady influx of coronavirus patients.

Vehicle owners can renew their road tax for 2021 as from January 7, the Road Transport Department has announced.

The EU considers the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine against Covid-19 more important than the speed with which it has been approved, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides has told CNA, noting at the same time that Covid-19 vaccines have undergone and will continue to undergo rigorous scientific review before and after they are available for use.

Restriction measures will be maintained even after vaccinations begin, as it won’t be until the summer until a safe percentage of the population is vaccinated, member of the government’s health advisory committee Dr Constantinos Tsioutis told the Cyprus News Agency on Wednesday.

The health ministry issued on Friday general instructions to the public ahead of the arrival to Cyprus of the first batch of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab on Boxing Day and released a photo of the vaccination card.

Cyprus on Sunday started vaccinating its population against Covid-19 as part of an intensified drive across the European Union to curb the pandemic which has destroyed lives and its economy.