Cyprus Mail 9 March 2020 - article by Gina Agapiou
More than 30 people are being tested for coronavirus with the results expected on Monday as Cyprus so far remains the only European Union country with no reported cases of Covid-19.
No confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported in the north.
A national guardsman from Andreas Papandreou air force base in Paphos was taken to Limassol hospital on Monday and is the third guardsman to be tested for coronavirus by the institute of neurology and genetics after he showed symptoms similar to the Covid-19.
On Sunday, another Cypriot soldier from an army camp in Nicosia was taken to the capital’s general hospital after he showed symptoms like the coronavirus and was reported he had recently traveled to Patra, Greece.
Both army camps are in lockdown expecting the results of the tests.
The Omorfita police station was also temporarily shut down late on Saturday after a 20-year-old detained person showed symptoms of the coronavirus and said he was also in Greece recently. The station was disinfected and is now operating normally.
The young man was taken to Limassol hospital pending the results. All the people who came in contact with him including officers and people at the court were asked to self-isolate themselves.
A Greek soldier serving at Eldyk was tested negative for the virus late on Friday after he showed symptoms of respiratory infection while an additional testing is expected on Monday since he was also in Greece last week where his mother was tested positive for Covid-19.
Test results are also expected for a group of private school students and their teachers who travelled from Larnaca to Barcelona in a transit flight though Athens, with a flight-attendant who was tested positive for Covid-19.
President Nicos Anastasiades had a conference call with leaders of European member states of Israel, Hungary, Austria, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria and Croatia at 11am on Monday to discuss joint efforts against the spreading of Covid-19.
According to government spokesman Kyriakos Kousios, the conference call took place at Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s initiative who revealed his country’s attempts to create a vaccine against Covid-19 with the help of the United States.
The eight European leaders discussed each country’s safety measures against the new coronavirus and suggested disinfecting places where an increased movement of people is observed such as airports.
The European leaders agreed to keep in contact and share feedback about the efficiency of the implemented measures.
The conference call is separate to the European Council’s extraordinary conference call taking place on Monday with 27 member states to discuss safety measures.
People showing symptoms of respiratory infection should not visit the hospital but contact their personal doctor, the medical association said on Monday.
The association reassured the public of their readiness to manage any possible spreading of the new coronavirus on the island and urged the public not to panic.
A number of events have been cancelled, including a concert celebrating 60 years of collaboration between Cyprus and Israel, following World Health Organisation’s guidelines to avoid gatherings with a large number of people as a precaution against the spreading of the coronavirus.
