The main building at Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital in Nicosia is to become a quarantine hospital.
The new arrangements have been made to combat the coronavirus – Covid-19, Health Minister Ali Pilli announced on Friday.
As of Friday evening a number of ambulances were being kept at the ready at the hospital.
Meanwhile, the transfer of in-patients to other medical facilities has begun.
According to the decision by the Covid-19 Coordination Center, the entire hospital will be transformed into a quarantine hospital except for the Dialysis and Oncology departments.
Thunderstorms and strong winds are expected this weekend.
According to the Met Office, as of today until 3 April, the region will be under the influence of a low air pressure system.
The weather, today and Sunday will be partly cloudy with showers or thunderstorms, partly cloudy on Monday, partly cloudy with rain on Tuesday until Friday.
Maximum temperatures will be around 19-22 degrees C.
Winds will blow from the south and west moderate to occasionally strong today and on Sunday.
The police, during their patrols on Friday, have charged 18 people for violating the curfew imposed in North Cyprus.
One individual had broken the 14-day quarantine rule.
A police statement said that that legal proceedings have been initiated against the persons in question.
Special phone numbers have been put in place on WhatsApp for those who need to leave their homes. Otherwise permission at a local police station must be sought in order to break curfew.
A 67-year-old German tourist who was undergoing treatment for the coronavirus at Nicosia State hospital has died this morning, the Ministry of Health has announced.
It was also stated that he had had a pre-existing medical condition – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Hypertension
The man was hospitalised on Friday, March 20, and was placed in intensive care on Wednesday, March 25.
The cause of death was respiratory failure and multiple organ failure due to the coronavirus – COVID-19
There are 241 cases of the coronavirus recorded across the whole of Cyprus.
There have been 62 cases in North Cyprus and 179 in the south.
The first cases of coronavirus was discovered in the south on 9 March. The first case in the TRNC was a 65-year-old German tourist.
Nearly 6,000 people have been tested for the virus in the south, and there have been five fatalities. In the north, 1,021 were tested for the coronavirus. So far one person died and 29 have been discharged from hospital. In the south, five people have died and eight have been discharged.
Today, Health Minister Ali Pilli announced that another person had tested positive for the coronavirus, bring the total of cases in North Cyprus up to 62.
However, the information required for digital permit applications to be made online must be filled in accurately and completely by the applicant. The district governorships will transmit their digital permit documents via SMS to those who are evaluated and approved. With the QR code on the Digital Permission Documents, the document will be able to automatically verify documents at the police controls.
As published previously, application can also be made on WhatApp on the following numbers:
Sixty British tourists staying in North Cyprus were permitted to cross the border to the south on Sunday enabling them to catch a flight from Paphos Airport to London Gatwick
The British High Commission in Cyprus had announced that the British tourists would be “exceptionally be permitted to use the Sovereign Base Area crossing point at Pergamos,” upon presenting a confirmed flight ticket.
They were was allowed to cross the border to return to the UK following an agreement reached between the British and South Cyprus governments.
The British travellers crossed at Pergamos on the British bases by bus, undergoing all the necessary health checks, authorities said. They then headed to Paphos Airport to catch their EasyJet flights, the first one of which took off at 2:35pm. The second one is scheduled to leave at 7.25pm.
Applications for property compensation to the Real Estate Committee (IPC) have been suspended due to the partial curfew imposed as part of the measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
President of the IPC Ayfer Erkman, told TAK news agency that applications had been suspended since March 16 and will continue to be, following a Cabinet decision to impose a partial curfew on March 22, 2020.
Financial assistance cannot be given to third-country nationals working in North Cyprus because it is not known who they are, Finance Minister Olgun Amcaoğlu has said.
As part of measures to protect workers who have been laid off temporarily, a flat rate of 1,500TL has been granted to workers in the public and private sector.
Responding to criticism that the government was neglecting third-world workers, Amcaoğlu said the aim was to identify this particular group of people by April 15 and provide them with the necessary assistance.
The finance minister told BRTK that while the EU had provided South Cyprus 700 million Euro, it had only granted only 5 million to the TRNC.
“I wish they hadn’t given it to us. Fortunately, we have the Turkish Republic standing by us”, he said, adding that the Turkish Cypriots have been granted 72 million Lira (around 10 million Euro) as aid to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Instructions have been given to banks to reduce their lending rates, Prime Minister Ersin Tatar has said.
Commenting on reactions to measures announced by the government to deal with the economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Tatar said that the state’s monthly revenue had dropped from 550 million TL to 200 million TL. He added that the government is trying to overcome the problems with the money it does receive. He said that when a three-month calculation is made, the finance ministry will lose about 600-700 million TL, and added that the reason for the wage cuts is the need to save.
Asked whether they could borrow from Turkey, Tatar responded that the necessary contacts were being made and that work had already been done on the 2020 protocol.
Prime Minister – Ersin Tatar
Evaluating reactions to the decision to give 1,500 TL to private sector workers for April and May, Tatar said the package would be re-evaluated and added that work on a second package had begun. Addressing the private sector, Tatar sent the message that “you are not alone, we are with you and we will overcome this process together”.
Responding to reactions to the plea-call addressed to banks for interest rates cuts, Tatar said the necessary instructions were given to the banks and stressed that they should not think about profit when adjusting interest rates. He added that Vakiflar Bank has lowered interest rates and has instructed the Co-operative Bank to do so, while the central bank is keeping an eye on developments.
The Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority ( KIB-TEK ) has announced that payment offices will be open on Wednesdays between 08.00 – 12.00 at regional offices and branches.
In a statement issued by KIB-TEK, it also said that telephone lines will be open between 08:00 and 12:00 on Wednesday, for customers who cannot pay online via credit card.
Payments
KIB-TEK has reminded that payment can be made online at www.kibtek.com Online Transactions, KIB-TEK Mobile Application (Android and IOS)
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has announced a £75m airlift initiative to rescue tens of thousands of British nationals stranded abroad because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Charter flights will help to repatriate Britons from “priority countries”, while UK travellers in countries where commercial flights were still running will be provided with subsidies for tickets.
The moves comes after the British Foreign Office was criticised for failing to help UK citizens back home.
Raab said: “I can today announce a new arrangement between the Government and airlines to fly home tens of thousands of stranded British travellers, where commercial flights are no longer possible.”
The British government will work with British Airways, Virgin Airlines, EasyJet, Jet2 and Titan airlines to launch a charter flights operation.
A full curfew will be imposed between 21.00-06.00 beginning tommorow, Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Özersay has announced.
This follows the decision made by the TRNC Cabinet.
Özersay said: “We have announced that municipalities have the authority to close markets and there will be prosecution for those who do not observe hygiene and distance rules”.
Grocery stores will be closed from 20.00 onwards while preparations are underway for aid packages.
The Near East University Hospital will offer emergency services free of charge as Nicosia State Hospital has now been designated as a quarantine hospital, head of the Board of Trustees Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel has said.
In addition, cancer and diabetes patients and pregnant women will continue to have routine examinations examinations for free.
In South Cyprus there are 262 cases of coronavirus, the number of cases in the TRNC has increased to 70.
The first case in the south was diagnosed on March 9, and in the north on March 10, in a 65-year-old tourist from Germany.
Health Minister – Dr. Ali Pilli
Minister of Health Ali Pilli reported the latest developments: 85 tests were made today, with one person testing positive for the virus.
The condition of three patients in the intensive care unit is stable, and the other patients being treated are in good condition.
Stating that 1262 tests have been performed so far, Health Minister Pilli said that the total number of cases was 70 and 29 patients had been discharged.
A woman who tested positive for coronavirus gave birth in South Cyprus at Nicosia’s Makarios Hospital on Tuesday.
The baby boy was delivered by C-section and both the baby and mother are doing fine, Dr Marios Loizou told the South’s Health Ministry. Both will remain at hospital for the next few days, he said.
The woman, who has two other children, was asymptomatic and was brought to south Nicosia from Paphos.
The C-section was carried out in a special operating theatre set up for such incidents. Both mother and baby will remain in isolation in separate rooms with no contact between them pending further tests.
If all goes well, they will be discharged from hospital in the next few days.
A low air pressure system over North Cyprus will mean skies will be partly cloudy with thunderstorms are expected in the evening, the Met Office has said.
Air temperatures will be around 18-20 C on the coast and 21-22 C inland.
Winds will be strong on occasions and blow from the south.
Prime Minister Ersin Tatar announced yesterday the preparation of a loan support package and payment of cheques and salaries for businesses that are negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tatar said the government, central bank and bank union have set up a billion-pound loan guarantee fund, that banks will provide businesses with 12% interest rate loans and that businesses will pay the interest rate at 9%, while the remaining 3% will be covered by this fund. The loans will have a maturity of 12 months and no instalment will be paid for six months.
Tatar said the low-interest loan package would last a year with the aim of minimising the impact of the employment and payment system on the coronary pandemic and supporting economic activities.
However, British and other foreign business owners have complained that they have not been included in the support package, despite paying taxes and conforming to the law.
Seven new cases of coronavirus (Covid-19) have been found in North Cyprus. There was also a second death from the disease.
Three of the seven who tested positive came from the Karpaz region as a result of contact. One case is from Alsancak and two other were said to be a married couple from the US living in Nicosia.
Health authorities said the 83-year-old woman, a German national, died from complications caused by the virus.
It was reported she was suffering from hypertension and diabetes. Both fatalities recorded in the TRNC were German tourists.
Health Minister Ali Pilli spoke to BRT about the distribution of cases which currently are being treated as follows:
Nicosia: 11
Miter: 3
Magusa: 2
Bayarmudu: 3
Lapta: 3
Karşıyaka: 2
Alsancak: 4
Girne: 1
Karpaz: 17
The health minister said that the condition of the 46 patients who are still being treated was “stable”.
The main building at Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu State Hospital in Nicosia is to become a quarantine hospital.
