One person has tested positive for coronavirus after a total of 1405 tests, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday, who was among 474 tests from passengers and repatriations. The health ministry said that the new case is a passenger who travelled to Cyprus from a Category A country and was found during tests to passengers that take place at Cyprus’ airports. This brings the total number of cases in Cyprus to 991.
The Cyprus Post announced on Wednesday that as of June 26, 2020, it will resume postal services to 41 countries, namely: Egypt, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Brazil, France, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Estonia, USA, Japan, India, Ireland, Spain, Israel, Italy, China, Croatia, Latvia, Luxembourg, UK, Mexico, Norway, Hungary, Ukraine, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, Czech Republic, Finland, Hong Kong, The Post Office reminded the public that postal services “are not provided under normal circumstances. Therefore, the transport, handling and delivery of packages to destination countries takes place with delay.” It added that it makes every effort to add additional destinations that will be announced when the restoration of services becomes possible.
The Labour Ministry announced on Wednesday that it has scrapped the 1433 hotline launched on March 23 to answer the public’s queries on its special Coronavirus schemes. It said that the reason for doing so is that “the special schemes implemented by the Labour Ministry for the period of March 16, 2020, until June 12, 2020, have been completed.”
Police on Tuesday night issued a €4000 out of court fine to the manager of a bar in Larnaca’s Mackenzie area for failing to comply with distancing rules under decrees to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It was one of three businesses booked after hundreds of checks. A bar was booked in Nicosia because customers were not seated and in Larnaca a hair dresser’s salon was fined €500 because the owner was not wearing a mask and gloves.
Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou has called for vigilance, saying that the coronavirus has still not gone away as more restrictions were lifted on Wednesday. “Despite the good epidemiological outlook Cyprus presents, we are unfortunately not over with the virus,” the minister said in a Facebook post. “That is why we must continue to be very careful.” The ten-person limit at social gatherings in houses and public areas was lifted on Wednesday, while the numbers of people allowed at indoor and outdoor gatherings have been raised. Originally, the plan was for 50 people to be allowed indoors and 100 people outdoors, but considering the latest positive epidemiological data, the ministry decided to increase the number to 75 and 150 respectively. Simultaneous indoor and outdoor gatherings were not allowed, however. The health ministry said that mass gatherings include weddings, christenings, concerts, festivals, private gatherings at home and any other form of public gathering. For social gatherings taking place in homes, the maximum number includes permanent residents. Earlier in the day, member of the advisory committee on coronavirus, Dr Maria Koliou, said that people have stopped taking protection measures warning that the virus is still within the community. The fact that there have been zero cases for a few days, does not mean the virus is gone, she said. “The virus is simply rarer than it was before. This, however, does not mean that we won’t come across someone near us with the virus and who can transmit it to us,” Koliou told the Cyprus News Agency. People need to continue following the protection measures such as keeping a two-metre distance from others, using masks in indoor, crowded areas, ventilate indoor areas and washing of hands.
