Reports of snakes being seen in places where people have never seen them before is not because Cyprus’ snake population is spiralling, officials have said.

The reason is far more mundane: the drought. Lack of winter rain has forced snakes to move about more to find water and food.

Fully vaccinated people make up less than one per cent of new coronavirus cases in Cyprus, while about five per cent concerns those who received one dose of the jab, health authorities said on Friday.

Vaccinated people who tested positive are either asymptomatic or experience mild symptoms, the head of the contact tracing team Valentinos Silvestros told the Trito radio.

Cyprus boasts no less than 69 different beaches that were awarded the famous Blue Flag designation – the 2021 list of which was released a few days ago, according to Philenews.

Cyprus was among a number of EU member states targeted for infringement procedures on Wednesday, most notably for its failure to take the necessary steps to protect and manage its Natura 2000 networks.