Coronavirus: People already in Greece will not have to pay for test at airport

The health ministry on Monday said that people who are already in Greece and will return after Thursday, when the country will be placed in category B, will not have to pay for the coronavirus tests they need to take upon their arrival.

The latest arrangement follows strong reactions by people who have already travelled to Greece, to Sunday’s announcement that Greece would be placed in category B from Thursday, meaning those arriving from there need to present a negative coronavirus (PCR) test certificate not older than 72 hours.

Cypriot nationals and their families and people permanently residing in Cyprus travelling from Greece can get tested upon their arrival at Larnaca and Paphos airports. Passengers will bear the cost of the test.

The health ministry said on Monday however, that Cypriots and permanent residents who travelled to Greece before Sunday – when the announcement was made – and will return after Thursday, will get tested at the airports upon their arrival free of charge.

They will however have to give to the laboratory a hard copy of their ticket and / or boarding pass showing the date of their departure from Cyprus, the ministry said.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.