The

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

was confirmed to have reached the British Overseas Territory of

Akrotiri and Dhekelia Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory o ...

in March 2020. __TOC__

Background

On 12 January 2020, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...

(WHO) confirmed that a

novel coronavirus Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...

was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The

case fatality ratio In epidemiology, case fatality rate (CFR) – or sometimes more accurately case-fatality risk – is the proportion of people diagnosed with a certain disease, who end up dying of it. Unlike a disease's mortality rate, the CFR does not take int ...

for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the transmission has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. From 19 March,

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

no longer classified COVID-19 as a "High consequence infectious disease".

Timeline

March 2020

On 13 March,

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

implemented a 14-day self-isolation rule for all people travelling from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. This measure includes arrivals from the United Kingdom travelling to the Sovereign Bases of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. Several people were self-isolating within the bases and being tested. All sporting activities, visits, and non-essential exercises within the bases were cancelled, in an effort to reduce the number of outside visitors. On 15 March, the first two cases in Akrotiri and Dhekelia were confirmed, both members of the UK Armed Forces permanently based at RAF Akrotiri. They arrived at

Paphos Airport Paphos International Airport ( el, Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Πάφου; tr, Baf Uluslararası Havalimanı) is a joint civil-military public airport located southeast of the city of Paphos, Cyprus. It is the country's second larges ...

on 13 March. They self-isolated and were tested positive after developing mild symptoms. Immediately after, the BFC Joint Services Health Unit started

contact tracing In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...

. On 18 March, a third case was confirmed.

April 2020

On that same day, the bases announced that all six schools in Akrotiri and Dhekelia would be closed until 20 April.

References

Akrotiri and Dhekelia

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the military Non-combat military accidents Military medicine in the United Kingdom 21st-century military history of the United Kingdom 2020 in British Overseas Territories 2021 in British Overseas Territories {{Cyprus-stub