Cyprus Mail 23 November 2020 - by Annette Chrysostomou
People crossing to the north for up to 24 hours will be required to show a negative PCR coronavirus test done in the past 24 hours as of Monday, but will not be required to self-isolate, authorities in the north announced in the morning.
Regulations already in place mean that anyone passing into the north to stay for over three days must quarantine for a week on arrival. All had to present a PCR test not more than 72 hours old.
The decision was made after eight Greek Cypriots infected with the virus were detected in Rizokarpaso.
Among them is an 11-year-old child and an 11-month-old infant, mayor Suphi Coskun noted. In a written statement, he reported six of the eight were taken to the south while two are treated in hospitals in the north.
He added the patients’ health is in good condition and about 500 PCR tests will be done in the Rizokarpaso area on Monday. All those who came into contact with the eight confirmed cases are urged to come forward to be tested.
He himself underwent the test which was negative, he wrote.
As the ‘health ministry’ in the north said on Sunday evening, three positive cases were recorded in the past 24 hours as a result of 1,008 tests.
The total number of cases in the north has reached 1,051.
According to the Cyprus News Agency, Turkish leader Ersin Tatar discussed the pandemic with ‘health minister’ Ali Pilli on Sunday.
Tatar said the situation is under control, noting in the Republic almost 200 cases are recorded daily while the number in the north is between two and five.
Hospitals in the south, he added, are in a difficult position, while in the north no patient is in an intensive care unit.
