in-cyprus 25 March 2020 - Bouli Hadjioannou
Thousands sought permission to leave the house as soon as restrictions on movement came into force at 6 pm yesterday, overloading the system and forcing authorities to ask the public to use forms or personal statements.
Deputy minister for innovation Kyriakos Kokkinos told CyBC on Wednesday morning that the system had received about 30,000 requests within the first half hour of going into operation.
He said the technical issue was being resolved but authorities may consider introducing additional filters — such as restrictions on the number of times one can apply — so as to better manage the situation.
The system is therefore not currently in operation and the public should either download the form or fill a personal statement giving the required information (name, ID, postal code, reason to leave house, date and time) to show to police if stopped.
The government have repeatedly stressed that leaving the house should be for exceptional reasons. President Nicos Anastasiades last night warned that a total ban may come into force if people abused the system or did not comply with the rules.
Kokkinos said that about 35,000 had accessed the forms online. These are currently available in Greek and English and are also being translated into Russian, he said.
