Coronavirus - Cyprus takes tough measures. Update 20 March 2020
As from Saturday, 21st March 2020, and for a period of 14 days, all flights will be prohibited to come to the Republic of Cyprus, excluding those carrying cargo. The government is considering tougher measures, taking into account that there is currently, as of Friday, 20th March 2020, a total number of 67 people who have been tested positive for coronavirus and 33 confirmed cases for coronavirus in the Turkish occupied north. Reflecting the seriousness of the situation, and considering that the coronavirus has also hit three hospitals, the Health Minister, Mr. Constantinos Ioannou, also issued an order, on Thursday, 19th March 2020, placing all registered doctors and nurses under his orders, starting 6am on Friday, 20th March 2020 (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/en/press/18032020_4.pdf) (https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-all-registered-doctors-and-nurses-under-ministers-orders/) (https://www.philenews.com/koinonia/covid-19/article/900454/live-koronoios-oles-oi-exelixeis-stin-kypro-kai-ston-kosmo).
After the above-mentioned prohibition of flights and until 30th April 2020, there will be a ban on entry to any citizen, regardless of nationality, who are not Cypriot nationals, legal residents, European or third-country nationals working or studying in the Republic; nationals of countries who are in a designated diplomatic service or mission under bilateral or international conventions; individual cases of European or third country nationals who have professional obligations that cannot be avoided, provided they have obtained authorisation from the competent ministry; and EU or third country nationals studying at educational institutions in the Republic of Cyprus. Those who are exempted from the ban are those who have traveled abroad for medical reasons, and persons who are abroad for a few days' stay for professional, or other, reasons (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/en/press/13032020_3.pdf)(https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/en/press/15032020_3en.pdf).
Those who fulfil these conditions will be placed under a 14-day compulsory quarantine at accommodation facilities designated by the Republic of Cyprus.
The above decision shall also apply to those who use the crossing points between the free and the occupied areas, except for purely humanitarian reasons and following approval by the Minister of Interior.
Also, students who opt to stay in their places of study, will be granted a EUR 750 allowance.
It has also been decided, to allocate the amount of EUR 100 million euros for reinforcing the public health sector. With regard to the public sector, the Ministers have been authorized to proceed to the structuring of an emergency operations plan.
Additionally, the operations of businesses of the private sector are suspended for a period of four weeks, as of 16th March 2020. These include malls; department stores; cafes, coffee shops, bars and all catering companies - delivery services are excluded; recreation centres; cinemas, theatres, other venues for performances; libraries; museums, archaeological and historic sites; betting shops, casinos, etc; sport facilities, sports clubs, cultural clubs and other clubs; theme parks, luna parks etc; barbers, hairdressers salons, and beauty -massage centres. This is in order to contain the spread of coronavirus, as part of a government ban on all public indoor gatherings with more than 75 people (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/press/15032020_9.pdf).
The Government has decided to adopt a comprehensive exceptional financial Support Programme for the working people, the small and medium-sized enterprises and in general of all Cypriot businesses. The “Support Programme” that has been formulated, is structured and specific, both in range as well as in expenditure, and it is valued at EUR 700 million, an amount equal to the 3% of the GDP. The Minister of Health, Mr. Constantinos Petrides, stated that the aim of this is to “provide an effective and a strong social safety net for employees, to support the resilience of our businesses and to strengthen our health system” (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/press/15032020_10.pdf) (https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/03/15/coronavirus-emergency-economic-measures-will-have-serious-financial-implications/).
Mr. Petrides also referred to the temporary reduction of VAT from 19 per cent to 17 per cent, over a two-month period, and from 9 per cent to 7 per cent, over a three-and-a-half-month period immediately after the relevant legislation is adopted to strengthen the purchasing power of the citizens. The cost will be EUR 70 million.
It was also announced that the Central Bank of Cyprus decided to relax loan origination rules, while it freed an additional capital amounting to EUR 100 million, bringing the total capital buffer to EUR 1.4 billion. This is in order to encourage banks to continue lending and show a more flexible stance to business and households affected by the coronavirus epidemic (https://in-cyprus.com/coronavirus-cbc-urges-banks-to-consider-suspend-instalments-for-9-months/).
The Minister of Labour, Ms. Zeta Emilianidou, also announced measures to help support workers and vulnerable groups of the population. These include granting a four-week ‘special leave’ to parents working in the private sector to care for their children of up to 15 years old due to school closures. The budget for one month is EUR 20 million and is expected to cover 50,000 persons (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/press/15032020_6.pdf).
The permit will be granted to one of the two parents and will be in consultation with the employer upon request. The ‘special leave’ will be granted to parents who cannot work from home or work on a flexible schedule.
A number of support measures were also announced for businesses to help employers avoid lay-offs including an ‘operation suspension scheme’ for businesses that will either have to suspend their operations or have seen their turnover drop by more than 25 per cent. This will allow affected employees to receive unemployment benefits for as long as the business’ operations are suspended.
A EUR 10 million scheme for the support of small businesses that employ up to five persons has also been announced to subsidise 70 per cent of the employees’ salaries.
An average monthly allowance of EUR 800 will be given as sick leave to persons with health issues. The allowance will also be given to persons who are forced to abstain from work to be in quarantine under medical supervision or self-restriction under telephone monitoring.
Also, all public and private educational institutions will remain closed until 10th April 2020. During the suspension of the operation of public educational institutions, the Ministry of Education would ensure the educational programme was covered. The education ministry announced that it would be launching a distant learning programme.
As mentioned above, the Health Minister, Mr. Constantinos Ioannou issued an order, on Thursday, 19th March 2020, placing all registered doctors and nurses under his orders starting 6am on Friday, 20th March 2020. The order states that all doctors who are registered on the medical registry “are placed under the instructions of the health minister and execute the duties assigned to them” (https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-all-registered-doctors-and-nurses-under-ministers-orders/).
The State health services organization informed the public, on Thursday, 19th March 2020, that the Limassol general hospital has been closed to the public. One of the latest reported cases of coronavirus, involves a pediatrician, at Limassol general hospital, who had recently returned from Greece. The children’s ward in Limassol general hospital was shut down immediately and work is underway for them to be transported elsewhere (https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-public-told-not-to-go-to-limassol-hospital-as-it-is-closed/) (https://cyprus-mail.com/2020/03/19/paphos-hospital-remains-shut-limassol-shuts-childrens-ward/).
Paphos general hospital remained closed on Friday, 20th March 2020, as health authorities continued to test staff for coronavirus, after many of them were positive for the coronavirus. The Nicosia General Hospital suspended their operations, but reopened their outpatient clinic (https://www.stockwatch.com.cy/el/article/ygeia/ta-nea-metra-sta-nosokomeia-leykosias-kai-lemesoy)
The Famagusta Hospital, according to the action plan of the Ministry of Health, has been designated as the reference hospital (https://www.kathimerini.com.cy/gr/kypros/kypros-ygeia/kratiki-kinitopoiisi-kata-ton-epiptwseon-toy-koronoioy)
Measures to prevent infection include special attention to personal hygiene – to frequently wash hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, to use alcohol-based hand sanitizer which contains at least 60% of alcohol, and to use handkerchiefs and single-use wipes. Also, to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing /sneezing and then dispose of the tissue in the trash bin, as well as to clean and disinfect surfaces and work desks on a regular basis.
Other measures include to maintain adequate and frequent ventilation of houses, workplaces crowded buildings, to avoid contact with patients who may have symptoms of respiratory infection, and to avoid crowded spaces and close contact with people.
Symptoms of the coronavirus include mild to moderate or severe infection, including severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis and septic shock. The symptoms are similar to those of the common cold, which include fever, runny nose, cough, sore throat, respiratory distress and possible headaches. The virus has an incubation period of 14 days. Whoever is suffering from the above-mentioned symptoms should call the helpline 1420 (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/en/pdf/symptoms%20measures.pdf) (https://www.moh.gov.cy/moh/moh.nsf/All/0D5A0919CACA4BF8C225851B003E098C/$file/Information%20Leaflet%20EN.pdf).
For further information, please click on the following links or call the helpline 1450 (https://www.moh.gov.cy/moh/moh.nsf/All/0D5A0919CACA4BF8C225851B003E098C)(https://www.moh.gov.cy/moh/moh.nsf/All/0D5A0919CACA4BF8C225851B003E098C/$file/Information%20Leaflet%20EN.pdf) (https://www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus/en/index.html).