Filenews 10 July 2021 - by Michalis Hatzivasilis
Chaos was triggered yesterday, the first day of implementation of the safePass demonstration measure in the dining and entertainment areas, with the burden of control falling on the premises and reactions varying. Others seem to be complying, others partially and others at all, and yesterday all we saw on a visit to cafes in the capital was that traffic was reduced to 50%.
The organised owners of leisure centres, after a meeting with the Minister of Health, gave time credit for the weekend to the safePass measure, in order to record the problems that would arise, while calling for universal application of the measure (in all places of confusion) with control by the state institutions. As PASIKA's G.G. Fanos Leventis told "F", in a meeting they had with the Minister of Health, he was told that for the owners of leisure centres the issue of control is a red line.
The responsibility must be on the authorities, not the restaurateurs. As he said, they asked the Minister to recommend to the Council of Ministers the universal application of the measure (in ovens, fruit shops, supermarkets, etc.) and stressed that the owners of leisure centres would implement the measure provided that where a regular refuses to show safePass he will be asked to leave. When he refuses, then the person in charge of the premises will record the refusal so that in case of control by the police he is covered. Mr Leventis stressed that if problems are identified after the weekend that prevent the smooth functioning of the premises, then a proposal for mobilisations will be on the table. He said he would be in contact with Health Minister Michalis Hatzipantella and stressed that thoughts are being made about providing vouchers to vaccinated regulars.
However, many restaurants through facebook have notified their customers that they will not carry out safePass checks because they consider it illegal, and even blacklisted for those premises that will implement the measure circulating to be "punished" by those who consider it illegal.
Also yesterday large clubs and nightclubs have cancelled events and announced that only those with safePass will enter, while some centres have announced that they will be able to carry out on-site rapid detection tests so that the customer can obtain safePass and enter the premises.
For his part, the president of the Association of Entertainment Centers, Nikos Vassiliou, told "F" that the problem for entertainment venues is not the authorization of a person to take control of safePass, but the maximum number of people who will be allowed in their premises. "It's not difficult for us to control because safePass controls ensure both the space and the health of customers," he said. He said the problem is not caused by the legal centres but by those who turn their restaurants into bars and by 50-100 people, who have the right to host, gather up to 500 or 1,000 or bring singers and there is overcrowding. We, Mr Vassiliou added, are waiting for the Health Minister to tell us how to open up. Because half of them will open and the others won't. Finally, he added that safePass highlighted anarchy and unfair competition in the catering business and the State must put its hand on the type of sun.
Speaking to a coffee shop manager in Strovolos, which belongs to a well-known coffee chain, he told us that he had been acting as the policeman since this morning. "We kicked out about 15 of our customers who didn't have safePass. In one case - he said - tension was created when a person insisted on being served but did not have or did not show a certificate that he was vaccinated or had carried out a PCR or rapid test. He eventually walked away with threats. It's hard to drive away your clients you've known for so long, but those are the decisions," he said.
Another cafe owner in Egomi told us that the measures announced by the Government are correct, but disagreed with the control of safePass by the staff of the premises. He stressed that the world's mobility is declining. "If they come without safePass and I kick them out, they won't come back," he says. At the same time, he expressed the view that the Ministry of Health or the Police had to shoulder this burden. He explained that safePass will be a deterrent for consumers because, he said, if in a group one does not have a certificate or refuses to show it, then everyone will leave.
The paradoxes yesterday were that in shopping malls they did not ask for safePass, while in individual shops, apparently because of a misinterpretation of the decree, they were asking. As police spokesman Christos Andreou told "F", yesterday the Chief instructed the police directors to intensify controls, especially in places where there is overcrowding. He pointed out that to date two persons have been arrested for showing a fake rapid test, and added that the person in charge of an operation will be charged if he allows entry to a person without having a safePass with the out-of-court being proportional to the square metres of the premises. The regular will pay an out-of-court €300.
40 complaints in the last 24 hours
2,777 checks were carried out by the Police in the last 24 hours in which complaints were raised against 38 citizens and 2 premises owners.
A police spokesman said 776 checks were carried out in Nicosia and 14 civilians were reported, while in Limassol 491 checks were carried out and 15 civilians were reported.
In Larnaca 485 checks were carried out without a complaint and in Paphos 4 citizens and one owner of a premises were reported in a total of 440 checks. In Famagusta 5 citizens and one owner of a premises were reported in 291 checks, while in Morfou there was no complaint in a total of 77 police checks. Traffic carried out 176 checks with no complaints and the Port Authority carried out 41 checks without a complaint.
The two complaints against premises reportedly concerned a shop in Paphos, which operated without markings and antiseptics, to which the person responsible was fined €500. In addition, a fast food manager was reported in Famagusta province for not implementing measures such as markings, antiseptics and distances. A fine of €500 was also imposed.
Minister of Health: Focus on 27 premises
In the meantime, in a letter to Justice Minister Stefi Drakou, which is communicated to the Attorney General, the Assistant Attorney General, the Chief of Police and the Director of the Office of the President of the Republic, the Minister of Health, Michalis Hatzipantellas, calls for the intensification of checks of 27 Cyprus premises in which chains of cases have been detected.
The letter, presented by Alpha, lists specific entertainment venues by province, which have experienced problems in the past period. The letter was sent on Thursday and it is expected that the authorities' checks on these nightclubs will now be more intensive in the coming days. The 27 premises named are cafes, restaurants, nightclubs, gyms, etc.
