in-cyprus 25 May 2020 -Josephine Koumettou
*Cyprus on Saturday recorded no new coronavirus cases for the first time since the start of the outbreak but eight new cases were reported on Sunday, of which seven were imported on Thursday.
*Member of the committee of experts advising the government on Coronavirus Dr Leontios Kostrikis said on Monday that the crowding observed over the weekend in restaurants and public areas is troubling and dangerous.
*Malta and Greece were among low-risk countries for visitors to Cyprus and Switzerland and the Czech Republic among higher risk in comparison, according to an epidemiological risk assessment published by the Health Ministry on Sunday ahead of the reopening of Cyprus’ airports next month.
*Today sees the doing away of the 14-day quarantine for Cypriots returning from abroad if negative for Covid-19, the Transport Ministry said on Saturday. The day before, Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos had said that Cyprus will re-open its airports in two stages, starting on June 9 while Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios said that more countries will be added to the preliminary list of ‘safe’ nations put together by competent authorities.
*A 27-year-old and his father in law, 55, were remanded in custody for a further three days by a Limassol court on Sunday in connection with the illegal sale of 16,000 masks to a pharmaceutical company that were provided free by the state to government services as well as the private sector.
*The Cyprus News Agency reported packed Protaras beaches on Saturday, the first day of their opening, despite previous reports that the weather forecast kept many people away.
*The lifting of movement restrictions since Monday, May 21 has skyrocketed traffic, new data shows.
*Limassol has by far the fewest number of locally-acquired coronavirus cases per 100,000 of the population according to the latest infographics issued by the Health Ministry’s Epidemiological Surveillance Unit.
*Auditor General Odysseas Michaelides slammed the Anastasiades government over its decision to withdraw the state guarantees for the support of businesses bill from parliament.
Pictured: Attendees of a plenary session of the Cypriot parliament in Filoxenia conference center, practise social distancing measures amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Nicosia, Cyprus May 22, 2020. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou
