Filenews 14 May 2021
The new relaxes were announced at the end of the Cabinet meeting by the Minister of Health, Konstantinos Ioannou.
From Monday 17 May
- Extension of the curfew from 11 p.m. to 12 p.m.
- The use of SafePass remains mandatory in all enclosed spaces of increased assembly, such as shopping malls, theatres, cinemas, places of religious worship, and/or at events such as conferences and trade fairs.
- SafePass production is not mandatory outdoors, such as outdoor dining areas, outdoor theatres/amphitheatres/cinemas, etc.
- Further improvement arrangements for the field of sport, which will be announced later in the day by the Cyprus Sports Organisation.
From 10 June, nightclubs will reopen on the basis of a roadmap and health protocol.
The aim of the additional relaxations is to strengthen professional disciplines and stimulate the psychology of the public.
This is the statement of the Minister of Health:
The large and responsible effort made by the majority of citizens, combined with the fairly advanced stage at which vaccinations against COVID-19 are now at, have contributed to a clear improvement in epidemiological data. The downward trend in the positivity rate and the clear decrease in the number of nurses recorded in recent days in our country, fills us with optimism.
The Council of Ministers was informed today of the planning of vaccinations and the improved epidemiological indicators reflected in the National Report. The application of SafePass provides us with additional security especially indoor gathering places, such as churches, theatres, cinemas, conference venues, etc., where since 17 May the rate of physical presence increases. All the data I mentioned, but above all the need for psychological stimulation of citizens after many months of sacrifices, led the Council of Ministers to take the following decisions:
- Extension of the curfew from 11 p.m. to 12 p.m.
- The use of SafePass remains mandatory in all enclosed spaces of increased assembly, such as shopping malls, theatres, cinemas, places of religious worship, and/or at events such as conferences and trade fairs.
- SafePass production is not mandatory outdoors, such as outdoor dining areas, outdoor theatres/amphitheatres/cinemas, etc.
- Further improvement arrangements for the field of sport, which will be announced later in the day by the Cyprus Sports Organisation.
The above decisions enter into force on 17 May 2021 and will then be regulated by Decree.
At the same time, it was decided that from 10 June the recreation nightclubs should be reopened, on the basis of a roadmap and the health protocol, which will be finalised in the coming days after consultation between the Ministry of Health and the stakeholders. This decision is announced for preparation purposes and given that vaccination coverage will continue with the same fervour, leading the country closer to achieving the immunity target and contributed to further improvement of the epidemiological situation.
The implementation of lockdown in the previous two weeks has brought the desired results, since according to the national report there is a clear improvement in epidemiological indicators. The number of cases, the rate of positivity and the number of admissions to hospitals are recording a marked decrease and this is encouraging for continuity.
At the same time, the vaccination shielding of the population has been able to progress more intensively over the last three weeks. Despite our initial estimates, our Vaccination Plan has progressed to even younger ages, resulting to a very large extent of the positive response by citizens to the call for vaccination. The seriousness of the citizens towards vaccinations fills us with optimism and allows us to hope that we can emerge victorious from this difficult battle we have been fighting in recent months. Together we have managed to move our country to 3rd place among the Member States of the European Union in terms of dosing per 100 inhabitants.
I would like to convey the gratitude of the State to the vast majority of our fellow citizens for the enormous sacrifices he has made in all aspects of his life over the last 15 months. At the same time, with our responsible behaviour and the implementation of simple personal protection measures, we continue to improve our epidemiological picture. The use of a mask, hand washing, the selection of stable groups of friends and relatives for our social activity, the use of the SafePass tool indoors and indoors where people are confused, are just some of the simple measures that we can and should all incorporate into our daily routine to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
The arrangements decided by the Council of Ministers today are aimed at psychological uplifting citizens in order to increase the willingness to cooperate. I am once again confident that the whole of society will support the project to return to a more normal normality and return to a functional everyday life safely. The participation of everyone in this effort is necessary and very important in the phase we are in. Together, working together, we will ensure our safety and health.
