A mutated coronavirus – preliminary reports suggest it is 70% more contagious, although no more dangerous than the “old” one – has probably already reached Cyprus. Petros Karayiannis, a member of the Cypriot president’s epidemiology committee, told CNA.

“The mutations did not happen overnight. The mutating virus may have been spreading in the UK for weeks; it has been recorded in Italy, the Netherlands and even in Australia. We have active air links with the UK – and it could have already reached Cyprus. So the preventive measures taken by European countries are a little late,” Karayiannis said.

“It is claimed that the new variant of the virus is more contagious, but it does not seriously affect the course of the disease and does not change the level of vaccine effectiveness”, – added the expert, stressing that there is not enough data for conclusions yet.

Answering the question whether there are plans to soften anti-vaccine measures during Christmas and the New Year, Karayannis suggested that if there will be any relaxations, they will be small and for a short time – for example, specifically during the holidays. “I’m sure that after the holidays we will have a noticeable increase in the number of new infections,” the professor said.