Pegasus Jets has said that all those who have purchased tickets for all international and Cyprus flights up to May 31, 2020 may change them for flights up to 29 October, 2020 in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Passengers will not be charged any service fee if they wish to change their flight dates.
The company noted that all crew and passengers will be supplied with masks during their flights.
Fears of the spread of the coronavirus lead to panic buying yesterday. Today the streets are noticeably empty. Event the local hospital’s casualty department is quiet.
Locals told Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Yeni Duzen’ that they did not feel confident about the measures taken by the government and explanations about the disease and countermeasures were in adequate.
The general feeling was one of insecurity. On Wednesday, the World Health Organisation officially announced that the coronavirus – covid -19 had been designated as a pandemic.
So far, only case case of coronavirus has been reported in North Cyprus. A German tourist in Famagusta reported herself to the local hospital. She was transferred to Nicosia State Hospital, tested positive for the virus and put into isolation. Her condition is said to be good.
Peopled had flocked to the shopping malls the previous day and emptied shelves of food and cleaning products and drugs. Today was quieter… Silence prevails throughout the country.
Local businesses have complained about the misinformation being spread about the virus.
While many workplaces are taking precautions with masks and disinfecting gels, the Nicosia State Hospital Emergency Services, which normally is very busy, had a very calm day yesterday.
Meanwhile experts continued to warn about taking precautions, hand washing and self-isolating if feeling unwell.
The government has ordered schools to remain closed until 15 March. Public events are cancelled children’s play areas are closed. Public buildings are being disinfected.
Speaking to Yeni Duzen, Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology Specialist. Dr. Hüseyin Kaya Süer noted that coronavirus is spreading rapidly around the world and the number of cases is increasing day by day.
Dr. Süer pointed out that those who say that it is not necessary to wear a mask when in contact with others, should use a mask.
Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Ozersay has announced revised measures to be taken against the spread of the coronavirus. He left the ongoing cabinet meeting to make the announcement.
Akyar and Yesilirmak border crossing points are closed until 22 March. Metehan/Kermiya, Ledra Palace and Beyarmudu crossing points will remain open, he said.
In addition, visitors from Britain, Italy, Iran, Iraq, China, South Korea, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, USA, Switzerland, Japan, Norway, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Singapore, Austria, Bahrain, Netherlands, passengers coming from Hong Kong and Qatar and citizens of this country are banned from from entering North Cyprus via air, land or sea as of midnight tonight.
This measure is in place until 1 April. On arrival from abroad, those with immigration leave and citizens of the country will be able to enter the country, but will be required to remain at home for 14 days.
The Ministry of Health will take all necessary measure in accordance with the Communicable Diseases Law against all those who do not comply.
This will come into force as of midnight tonight until April 1. Ozersay also said that the government will continue to introduce new measures if and when the need arises.
The school holiday period is extended until 22 March.
All school activities have been suspended until 3 April, 2020.
All other public gatherings such as cinemas, theatres, concerts and rallies are cancelled until 22 March.
Members of the public have been asked to not go abroad.
Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Ozersay said that the government was not declaring a state of emergency but that the measures were aimed at reducing the risk of the virus spreading. He said that more measures could be announced at the end of the meeting.
He added that as far as he knew there had been no further cases of coronavirus reported in the TRNC.
Ozersay said that medical supplies such as masks, surgical gloves, antiseptic gels, disinfectants, and similar items were placed under the “controlled goods category” under the Law on Goods and Services allowing the government to regulate the retail price of these items and to implement sanctions against opportunists. He also urged the public to follow hygiene rules.
A second tourist has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Ministry of Health has announced.
The statement also stated that the number of coronavirus diagnoses had increased to two, and that no TRNC citizens have been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The second case is the husband of a German tourist who reported herself to Famagusta Hospital complaining of fever. She was transferred to Nicosia State Hospital and tested positive for coronavirus four days ago. Her condition is stable, reports say.
Meanwhile, her husband who initially tested negative but later on developed a fever, was tested again and was found positive for coronavirus – covid-19 on Thursday.
The Ministry of Health said that every development in the context of the public’s right to be informed will continue to be shared with transparency.
Leader of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) and candidate for the presidential election Tufan Erhurman said that “the presidency is always regarded as the negotiator’s office, but the presidency must deal with other topics”.
According to a press release from the party’s press office, Erhurman said during his visit to the Guzelyurt region, that his priority is to resolve the Cyprus problem and that he will make every effort to find a solution.
He reiterated that once the presidential election is over, a five-way meeting must be held, adding that all sides need to discuss first and prepare so that they can really aim for a solution. He said that they also went to Crans-Montana to find a solution with no results. Now there is a possibility that no solution will be reached. For him, he noted, what follows is of vital importance, if no solution is reached.
He reiterated: “The presidency is not just about negotiations. It needs to have a more active foreign policy. We still have problems in the European Union relating both to the regulation of direct trade and the Green Line regulation. Our athletes still cannot compete in international competitions”.
Medical organisations have found the measures announced by the government inadequate and have urgently requested the establishment of a separate quarantine hospital.
The Cyprus Turkish Medical Association, Cyprus Turkish Physicians Union, Cyprus Turkish Medical Association and Cyprus Turkish Dental Medical Association held a press conference on coronavirus – COVID19.
Özlem Gürkut, President of the Turkish Cypriot Medical Association announced the medical professionals’ own set of recommendations as follows:
Taking legal measures to allow only TRNC citizens and those with residence and work permits to enter via land, sea and air, and to keep all entrants in a 14-day compulsory home quarantine, without exception,
Preparing a separate quarantine hospital without losing time, having sufficient bed capacity, computed tomography and intensive care unit facilities sited in Nicosia,
Adequate supplies of medical equipment and treatment facilities to be used in case of possible outbreak,
Taking adequate measures and making arrangements to ensure the safety of the healthcare team that who will be in contact with the patients in health institutions
Serving only emergency and inpatients in all other hospitals
Limiting the work of all public and private workplaces without causing disruption to the provision of basic necessities,
Taking measures within the legal framework so that the need for people to go out at a minimum,
Preparation of security measures so as to implement these measures.
To date, the measures taken in any of the countries with the COVID-19 outbreak have not been observed to be unnecessary or extreme. Measuring the success in terms of preventative actions taken by each country – countries that did not take radical measures in time had only regret.
As the physicians of our country, we think that we will be successful in the management of the epidemic if we take preventive measures based on scientific data sufficiently and in a timely fashion in coordination with our healthcare professionals, the state and our citizens.
Public and private employees will be on leave until 27 March, as part of measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Council of Ministers has announced. Additionally, it has been decided that Famagusta Hospital will be designated as a quarantine hospital.
Exceptions to those taking leave will be public the fire brigade, police, civil defence and finance officers.
In particular, services will be closed outside sectors such as supermarkets, petrol stations and pharmacies.
The Council of Ministers has asked that people avoid “going out on the street”, and announced that precautions were being taken ahead of a “State of Emergency“, and it was also announced that the imposing of a curfew will be evaluated.
The Cabinet also decided to ban entry to tourists from all countries, including Turkey; TRNC citizens and those with a work permit are excluded from the ban. It was also learned a decision has been made that that Greek Cypriots were temporarily stopped from crossing to the north.
Those who come to the country from abroad will remain under house supervision for 14 days.
All public officials working in the public sector except police, firefighters, healthcare, civil aviation finance and similar services will be considered to be on administrative leave until 27/03/2020.
In the private sector, all shops, businesses, casinos, night clubs, bet offices, Entertainment centres, etc., except for businesses that produce services within the framework of meeting basic needs such as pharmacies, petrol stations, bakeries and supermarkets. places will be closed until 27/03/2020.
It is obvious that within the framework of these two measures, a large number of our citizens will stay at home and will not feel the need to go out. On the other hand, as the government, we ask that no one goes out to the street unless it is necessary. Also, depending on the developments within the next 48 hours, our Council of Ministers will evaluate the need for a partial or full curfew under section 156.
As of 14/03/2020, 02:00, until 01/04/2020, only TRNC citizens and persons who have legal leave in our country can enter the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus through land, sea and air border gates. Entry to the TRNC is banned until 01/04/2020.
Regardless of which country they comes from, our citizens and people on legal leave who enter our country through land, sea and airport will be monitored and controlled at home for 14 days. For those who do not comply with this, legal action will be initiated under the Communicable Diseases Law No. 45/2018.
Between 14/03/2020 and 01/04/2020, a decision was made to ban gatherings by associations, unions and locals and not to perform mass worship.
It has been decided to use Famagusta State Hospital as a quarantine hospital, and efforts have been increased to provide sufficient personnel, equipment and bed capacity and all kinds of facilities in the hospitals.
The South Cyprus Ministry of Health has announced that seven more cases of coronavirus have been detected.
While five people were quarantined, the other two were taken to Limassol Hospital. All seven people arrived from the UK recently.
The total number of cases in the south of Cyprus is now 21. That number has increased to 26 across the whole of Cyprus.
Meanwhile North Cyprus Health Minister Ali Pilli has said that, so far, no new cases of coronavirus have been discovered in the TRNC. The current number of cases is five, comprising four tourists and one TRNC citizen.
The cost of meat in the supermarkets has risen following panic buying by consumers as the fear of the spread of coronavirus increases.
Despite the fact the there have been assurances from the government and supermarkets that there are plentiful stocks of produce, shelves have been emptied. Following which, this week the cost of meat has risen from 84.90 TL to 110 TL per kilogram.
The competent authorities should petition for EU aid under the Financial Aid Regulation, leader of the CTP and presidential candidate Tufan Erhurman has said.
Pointing out that the European Union has created a fund of 25 billion euros for member states to meet health needs and to counter economic losses. He said:
“We are not in the ‘member state category’, but there is a Financial Aid Regulation in effect to contribute to our social and economic development. At the moment, we are facing serious problems both in the field of health and throughout the economy due to coronavirus, and the social and economic damage that this creates is obvious. In this context, our competent authorities need to contact EU authorities without delay and communicate our demands on health in general, our socio-economic needs in general”.
Supermarkets could take orders by phone, North Nicosia Mayor Mehmet Harmanci has said.
Food shops could remain closed but supply orders taken over the phone in order to help stop the spread of coronavirus. This would ensure the safety of both consumers and shop staff, he said.
How the food is collected or delivered can be worked out. Harmanci said that this seems to be the cheapest and most effective way to help stop the spread of the virus, providing all stakeholders agree.
Elsewhere it has been reported that despite the decision by the Cabinet to close businesses in the private and public sector, with the exception of supermarkets and pharmacies, until March 27, many businesses did not comply with the ruling in many regions yesterday.
A large number of private businesses and their employees were informed of the decision in the morning, and some of them opened their shops despite the warnings. In the afternoon, the Ministry of Interior announced that the police will be on duty in cooperation with the District Governorate, Police and Municipal Police to conduct the necessary inspections regarding the workplaces that should be closed in each district, as part of the decisions taken at the Council of Ministers meeting held on 13 March.
According to a report by Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Kibris Postasi’, legal proceedings and investigations were launched against a restaurant operator in Kalkanlı, who did not comply with government decisions taken within the framework of coronavirus measures.
According to the information provided by the Police Press Officer, a restaurant re-opened despite police warnings. Legal proceedings were initiated against the operator, for not complying with legal orders.
In addition to the importance of measures put into effect by our Government against the coronavirus (Covid-19), which has turned into a global epidemic, some decisions have been taken to ensure that our citizens do not affect communication services in order to minimise their discomfort during these difficult days.
In this context, at a time when individual isolation has been encouraged by the decisions of the Council of Ministers; Considering that citizens will increase their demand to connect with their relatives at home and abroad through online contact, online shopping, online banking transactions, accessing information over the internet, which has become a basic need.
As a result of consultations with the Internet Service Providers (ISS), it was decided to continue the troubleshooting works by applying all the necessary measures to ensure that the services in this area do not fail.
In addition, during the measures to be implemented across the country until March 27, 2020, new installations will be stopped by Internet Service Providers (ISP), while only the telecommunications department will continue to repair faults. During this time, no new installation will be made. In order to deal with telephone faults as soon as possible, subscribers are kindly requested to make their complaints to the telephone response system number 161 or the Telecommunication Department’s Facebook page (@kktctelekom) with their subscriber name, surname, address and contact number information.
In case of internet malfunction, the Internet Service Provider should be contacted.
Police initiated legal proceedings against a person who entered North Cyprus from abroad and tried to cross to the south without remaining in quarantine for 14 days.
According to the police statement, the 69-year-old person, who arrived in the TRNC on March 14, tried to cross the border to the south vie the Metehan crossing point. Legal proceedings were initiated against him, which was detected this morning after he was discovered trying to cross south at around 6am.
Six Cases of Coronavirus in Total
Minister of Health Ali Pilli said that there are no new cases in the north, and the tests performed on six others in the last 24 hours were negative.
He said that six people were tested after showing suspicious symptoms in the past 24 hours, but all of these tests were negative.
The health minister said that two of the six people tested were among the people being observed in the hotels, two were Moroccan citizens in North Cyprus and the other two were British citizens living in the country.
The treatment of the six coronavirus patients, whose tests have been positive, continues.
As of yesterday, there are 35 COVID -19 cases in the south (two in English bases), six in the north and 41 in Cyprus. (TAK)
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay has called on TRNC citizens working at the British Sovereign Bases Area (SBA) not to go to work after two members of the UK Armed Forces permanently based at RAF Akrotiri, tested positive for coronavirus – Covid-19.
In a post on social media on Sunday, Özersay said that they were continuing to take up the matter with the British High Commission but added that no agreement had been reached yet.
“Following the news of confirmed Covid-19 cases on the base I call on our citizens not to go to work tomorrow. I would like to remind that those who do go to work will have to self-isolate themselves at home for 14 days following their return. No one can fire you from work while there is a global pandemic going on. Moreover, British authorities have reassured us that you will not lose your jobs”, Özersay said.
He said that the public will be updated on the latest developments.
The condition of two German tourists, who were the first in North Cyprus to have the Coronavirus is good, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Ali Çaygür has said.
The same group of German tourists remain in quarantine at their hotels. Their quarantine is expected to end on Sunday, 22 March. Those in good health will be returned to their own countries, he said.
A 65-year-old German tourist, the first to display symptoms of the coronavirus, is recovering well and has been in quarantine for nine days, the undersecretary said.
Providing she continues her recovery, she will be sent home with the other members of the same tourist group, he said. The health official added that her husband, who had also succumbed to the virus is improving but remains at risk because he is elderly and has a pre-existing health problem.
Pegasus Jets has said that all those who have purchased tickets for all international and Cyprus flights up to May 31, 2020 may change them for flights up to 29 October, 2020 in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus.
