Coronavirus: mask mandate extended without expiry date on decree

The health minister on Thursday renewed a decree making face masks mandatory in certain indoor spaces, while also setting a ceiling of €75 on the price of PCR tests for the coronavirus.

The decree did not specify a cutoff date for mandatory masks, as the previous one had done. The earlier decree concerning masks had been due to expire on Friday, August 21.

It’s therefore understood that mandatory mask-wearing in the designated spaces will be indefinite, until such time as the minister revokes the relevant decree.

The decree applies to people aged over six. Masks are mandatory for everyone (staff and non-staff) in indoor crowded areas such as malls, banks, supermarkets, pharmacies, hospitals and churches, as well as all government departments. People working in mass transit (bus drivers) must also wear one.

The penalty for not wearing a mask is a €300 fine, paid by the offender and not the business or premises owner or manager.

The health minister also set a maximum price of €75 (not including VAT) for the Covid-19 test (RT-PCR). The new price cap is valid as of August 21 and applies to all such tests, except for contracts already signed by the government.

Other than the Institute of Neurology and Genetics, and state laboratories, the private labs qualified to carry out the PCR test are as follows:

ACT-BIO laboratories partnership (biomedical laboratories Charis Charilaou, Andreas Adamou laboratory and Biocheck clinical laboratory); Medifos; Theocharides clinical laboratories; MyGene Molecular Diagnostics; Diogenous laboratory (C.D. DNA Biomedical Science Lab); Bioatriki Group (Yiannoukas labs); Partnership of Bioanalysis Clinical Labs (Limassol), Tymvios labs (Nicosia), PZ Agapiou Diagnostics; and NIPD Genetics.

Also: Molecular department of the laboratory at the American Medical Centre; clinical laboratory of Iasis private hospital; clinical laboratory of Evangelismos private hospital; clinical laboratory of the Ygeia private hospital; clinical laboratory of the Mediterranean Hospital of Cyprus; A. Evangelou Lab; Synlab; clinical laboratory of Aretaion hospital.

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