Three people have tested positive for coronavirus, the Health Ministry said on Sunday, updating its earlier announcement in which it had said that no new cases had been reported. The ministry said that 58 additional tests were completed late on Sunday afternoon from repatriations. Three positive cases were reported. Protocols have been activated regarding tracing of close contacts. Two of the three cases had returned from London yesterday. The third is a crew member who was tested as part of regular tests of crew members and had returned to Cyprus on a flight from Greece yesterday. This brings the total number of tests today to 1252 and the total number of positive cases in Cyprus to 983.
Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci on Sunday called on scientists in the north to speak up about the coronavirus situation in Turkey, which he said was even worrying health experts there. Turkey has confirmed 176,677 cases and has seen 4,792 deaths from Covid-19. The number of new coronavirus cases there rose to 1,459 on Saturday from 1,195 a day earlier, increasing after travel restrictions were lifted and facilities reopened at the start of the month, according to Reuters. The daily number of cases had previously been below 1,000 since late May. In the 24 hours between Friday and Saturday, 14 people died, bringing total fatalities to 4,792. In a written statement, Akinci called on Turkish Cypriot health experts to express their views. “Are our scientists not worried about July 1?” he asked referring to the date that flights between Turkey and the north are due to resume. “We are going through a period in which it is important and mandatory for health professionals to express their views publicly and strongly as we expect them to guide the politics [of the situation],” Akinci added. “Transport and communication with Turkey is undoubtedly crucial. However, we have a responsibility to protect the health of our people above all.”
The zero cases COVID-19 trend in the occupied north continued, with ‘health minister’ Ali Pilli reporting that no new cases were found out of a total of 21 tests over the past 24 hours.
Authorities continued their intensified checks on night clubs, bars and restaurants for Covid-19 violations, according to the revised health ministry protocols. As of Friday evening, police conducted almost 1200 checks, charging 60 night spots with various violations. Over the past 24 hours, 711 checks were conducted, with 12 businesses charged. In most cases, they did not have the necessary protection signalling or personnel were not wearing protective masks and gloves. In addition, 21 businesses were charged for operating without loudspeaker or alcohol license. Some did have operating licenses from the relevant authority. On Friday, 479 businesses were checked, with 6 charged for Covid violations, including two concerning a greater number of people than what is allowed in revised healthy ministry directives. Police said they will continue intensified checks in all cities, ensuring the implementation of both Covid and other legislation on night spots.
