Open It but maybe They Won’t Come

[Mike J]

Much speculation in the U.K. press about whether foreign holidays will be allowed or indeed whether people from the EU should be allowed into the U.K. this summer .
This from The Independent
“ Cyprus with 244 new cases per 100,000 people over the past week, the island has four times the rate in the UK – currently standing at 62.
Italy, which is set to impose an Easter lockdown, is just behind the rate in Cyprus, with 238 new cases per 100,000 citizens in the last seven days.
Greece, which previously had kept infections low, has also seen a sharp increase, and currently stands at 131 – almost twice the rate in Britain.
All though are doing better than poor Malta that is reporting 377 cases per 100,000 of population . “

The UK government seems to be suggesting that countries with higher levels of cases than the UK if visited by UK citizens even with vaccine jabs will be required to either isolate for 14 days in an hotel or at least isolate at home on their return . The same will apply to citizens from those countries. Shoe on the other foot this year it appears.

[Dominic]

Theses cases per 100,000 stats are completely meaningless when comparing countries. They are only relevant for a single country measuring its own population.

As stated by many people, including Trump, many times, the more tests you run, the more cases you will find. So a country that tests its entire population, for instance, will have a lot more cases than a country that only tests 10%.

It would be more accurate if they compared the percentage of positives recorded between each country. But even that would depend on the testing circumstances. If you only test people as a result of track and trace, for instance, then your percentage will be a lot higher than random population samples.

[Mike J]

Unfortunately it’s the way governments measure Covid numbers and make decisions including the government here . Therefore the amount of testing is irrelevant to such decisions . So however correct your theory might be, you you will still be in isolation on a return to the UK if these numbers stay as high or after the new relaxations continue to climb.

[Kili01]

If you look at the stats on 'In Cyprus' daily, its immediately obvious which city is the centre of this outbreak. Yet the Govt won't so far consider 'locking down Limassol'. Instead they are apparently staging something of their usual carnival. Also the relaxations of a few restrictions from tomorrow appear to be most unwise.
Perhaps by the end of this month the whole island will be in lockdown again.
What has happened recently in Govt? They handled the first lockdown so well.

Dee

[Kili01]

I think your figure of above a million people would include both the north and south.
I read somewhere that in the south the population is about 800,000.
There was a census held islandwide a few years ago which I remember taking part in.
We all had to.

Dee

[Kili01]

So what are you trying to prove? By testing such large numbers of people Cyprus is trying to find new cases and to isolate them, before they spread into the community.

Dee