Cyprus to Fund the Trip for COVID-infected tourists

The Cyprus government has announced that it will foot the bill for travellers who get infected with the coronavirus while they are visiting the country. This will cover the food, lodging, and medical expenses of affected travellers and their families.

The move was announced on Wednesday in a letter to the country's tourism partners, such as governments and airlines. The only cost tourists would have to bear in this scenario will be transportation fare to the airport and the airfare for the flight back to their home country.

The five-page letter also details the availability of a 100-bed hospital solely for COVID-positive tourists as well as a 500-bed &ldquoquarantine hotel&rdquo reserved for them and their families. 

As travel to the country opens its borders to 19 countries on 9th June, tourists would have to complete several health formalities before they can be allowed in. These include having to take a COVID-19 test three days before departure, fill out a &ldquoTravel Declaration&rdquo stating that they haven&rsquot exhibited any symptoms for 72 hours prior to flying and that they haven&rsquot been in contact with anyone who tested positive for the disease for 14 days prior to flying. Tourists may also be subjected to random temperature tests once they arrive in Cyprus.

This move aims at boosting tourism, which makes up 15% of the country&rsquos GDP and follows similar stimulus measures for tourism as are being proposed in countries like Italy and Japan.