Cyprus has announced that it detected its first four cases of the COVID-19 variant that originated in India.
Four samples tested positive for the Indian variant, while two others were positive for the South African variant. The patients were travelers from the Philippines, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
“These people were quarantined in hotels based on protocols and taken to a centre when their PCR test results came back positive,” the health ministry on the Mediterranean island said.
“They did not come into contact with other people,” it added.
Cyprus is speeding its vaccination roll out with 45% of its adult population vaccinated with the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The only way to curb the aggressive transmission they cause is high vaccination coverage of the population,” the ministry added.
Cases in Cyprus have soared to 941 due to the presence of the UK COVID-19 variant. The country has so far had 71,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
