Well, once more have postponed examining alternatives re returning to Canada in the laughable expectation that a short wait would bring clarity. Not.
The UK has indeed released its new list of countries that will not be required to quarantine and its list includes Canada (largely irrelevant as the pertinent question is not passport but the country or countries one has been to in the last 14 days) as well as Cyprus and Turkey. Thus rendering our unanswered question regarding the possibility of effecting a landside transfer in London - i.e. an overnight in a hotel between connecting flights - obsolete. Whether the lengthy list of approved countries was wise On the part of the British government is another question.
So in theory we are free, as of the end of next week, to fly to London, spend the night, and fly to Canada. However, there is still the difficulty of crossing the border to the South. Non Cypriots are being required to cross only with consular assistance, a negative covid test not more than 72 hours old, and proof of booked air to their own country. Lest this seem simply cautious on the part of the South, one has only to remember that Canadians, Brits, Germans, etc are free to fly into the Republic with negative tests - just not to walk across the border with them.
Worse Greek Cypriot border guards have been preventing tourists who have entered the South by air from crossing into the North even though the North considered them acceptable. Effectively preventing them from leaving the South when their only legitimate concern is with those who enter their country. One distraught resident of the North said his parents travelling on Romanian passports, were prevented from crossing to stay on land they owned in the North, laughed at and told they should have bought land in the South. Imagine this will not continue indefinitely - and it is not truly in the interests of the Southern tourism sector - but it is an indication of political motivation trumping (shame that useful word is becoming almost unusable) practical concerns.
The UK has indeed released its new list of countries that will not be required to quarantine and its list includes Canada (largely irrelevant as the pertinent question is not passport but the country or countries one has been to in the last 14 days) as well as Cyprus and Turkey. Thus rendering our unanswered question regarding the possibility of effecting a landside transfer in London - i.e. an overnight in a hotel between connecting flights - obsolete. Whether the lengthy list of approved countries was wise On the part of the British government is another question.
So in theory we are free, as of the end of next week, to fly to London, spend the night, and fly to Canada. However, there is still the difficulty of crossing the border to the South. Non Cypriots are being required to cross only with consular assistance, a negative covid test not more than 72 hours old, and proof of booked air to their own country. Lest this seem simply cautious on the part of the South, one has only to remember that Canadians, Brits, Germans, etc are free to fly into the Republic with negative tests - just not to walk across the border with them.
Worse Greek Cypriot border guards have been preventing tourists who have entered the South by air from crossing into the North even though the North considered them acceptable. Effectively preventing them from leaving the South when their only legitimate concern is with those who enter their country. One distraught resident of the North said his parents travelling on Romanian passports, were prevented from crossing to stay on land they owned in the North, laughed at and told they should have bought land in the South. Imagine this will not continue indefinitely - and it is not truly in the interests of the Southern tourism sector - but it is an indication of political motivation trumping (shame that useful word is becoming almost unusable) practical concerns.