Filenews 30 December 2021
Without restrictions on family gatherings in homes but with restrictions on nightclubs, restaurants, social events and stadiums, we will spend the next few days and it should probably be considered certain that the Government will come back next week with even stricter restrictions, since the skyrocketing number of daily cases and the situation prevailing in the Intensive Care Units do not seem to leave much room for further delays in taking additional measures.
This is also what the Minister of Health, Michalis Hadjipantelas, suggested last night, announcing the decisions of the Council of Ministers. "The epidemiological indicators in recent days have been rapidly deteriorating, with the possibility of an increase in patient admissions to state hospitals in the coming days.
The positivity rate is above 2.5% and specifically in the last three days, 7,168 positive cases were recorded within the community. The Omikron variant is now in the community and is expected to further burden our epidemiological picture," he said, and announced that "as we have already agreed with the members of the Advisory Scientific Committee, the situation will be reassessed next Tuesday, January 4, 2022 and decisions will be taken depending on the evolution of epidemiological indicators."
According to the Minister of Health, the Council of Ministers, which held an extraordinary meeting under the chairmanship of the PtB, decided after the agreement of the members of the Advisory Scientific Committee that as of today:
► Entrance to nightclubs, music and dance centres, banquet venues, weddings, christenings will be allowed only upon presentation of a 24-hour Rapid test. It is recalled that entry is allowed only to vaccinated people. It is clarified that the measure for weddings and baptisms will be implemented from January 3, 2022.
► The maximum number of people in restaurants, nightclubs and music and dance centres, in compliance with health protocols and the maximum number of persons per square metre in force, is set at 300 people. Patrons must be seated while dancing is prohibited.
► The presence of fans in the stadiums is set at 50% of the stadiums' capacity, with the use of a protective face mask being mandatory.
► Visiting hours in state and private hospitals and closed facilities are prohibited, unless approval is given by the Management following the presentation of a negative laboratory PCR test lasting 24 hours for urgent and only exceptional cases. For outpatient visits to patients and escorts, a negative Rapid test lasting 24 hours is required. Individuals who received a booster/3rd dose of vaccine are excluded.
As of next week:
► With effect from 4 January to 15 January 2022, passengers arriving at the CST are required to have carried out a PCR laboratory test 48 hours before their departure. It is reminded that upon arrival all passengers regardless of vaccination history, undergo a PCR laboratory test and the cost will be borne by the passenger.
► As of 3 January 2022, teleworking for 40% of the staff of each company or organisation in the service sector. It is clarified that this percentage includes people who, due to illness or declaration as close contact with a confirmed case, are placed in self-isolation and work from home and people who have used their rest leave. Clarifications on the essential services to be exempted will be given today.
The Ministry also decided to make recommendations regarding:
► The use of a double surgical mask or a high protection mask (e.g. type KN95 or FFP2 type).
► Avoiding the use of a cloth protective mask and replacing it with a surgical mask.
► Distance education and online examinations in higher education are also recommended.
For health professionals:
► As of today, the protocol for the management of cases and close contacts that have not received any dose of vaccine, or received the two doses for dosing vaccines or one dose for a single-dose vaccine, is changing, and the period of 7 months has elapsed and they did not receive the booster/3rd dose. Close case contacts will be subjected on the fifth day to PCR and on the sixth day to a Rapid test with a negative result after contact with a case to be released from the restriction. Positive cases are entitled to undergo rapid testing on the sixth and seventh day and if the result is negative, they should be released on the eighth day, provided that they do not show symptoms for a period of 48 hours. (The decision concerns doctors, nurses and all hospital workers).
"Schools must remain open"
In response to questions, the Health Minister made it clear yesterday that there are no thoughts of extending the holidays in education, nor about closing schools and returning to tele-education. "The view of the Advisory Scientific Committee is that schools should remain open," he said, and called on the head of the TEU, Konstantinos Tsioutis, to confirm what he said, which he did. In addition, the Minister of Health said that "an effort will be made to increase the number of units that perform rapid tests, saying that since there is a requirement for "rapid test lasting 24 hours and therefore someone can take the test on New Year's Eve, it must be ensured that there will be several rapid test units throughout Cyprus".
"The coronavirus threatens each and every one of us"
Addressing the citizens, the health minister said: "We need to understand that the pandemic crisis concerns us all. With more than 3,000 cases a day, in our own small population, it means that the coronavirus threatens each of us and we need to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We need to understand that it is necessary to observe the measures to protect ourselves and only in this way will we be able to return to normality as soon as possible."
According to information provided by "F", the Council of Ministers adopted yesterday all the proposals put before it by the Minister of Health who had previously held a meeting with the Advisory Scientific Committee.
As we are informed, the scientists had agreed with the minister's recommendations, although some of the members of the TEU had made additional proposals which may be included in the measures to be announced next week. Particular disagreements among the members of the TEU were not recorded at yesterday's meeting, but some of the scientists expressed the view that it would be appropriate to take even stricter measures from this week.
