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‘Dangerous disease’ after four months
All previous decisions were annulled, no new decisions were produced. The TRNC Council of Ministers, in a decision announced yesterday (Sunday) evening, declared that Covid-19 was a ‘Dangerous Contagious Disease’ according to the Contagious Diseases Law. Prime Minister Ersin Tatar who annulled previous decisions on entry and exit to the north gave full authority to the Health Ministry. The decision is believed to be aimed at the case filed at the Constitutional Court.
- No statement from the health ministry – the Health Ministry met last night (Sunday) but announced it would not be issuing a statement.
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Health Ministry fully authorised on coronavirus
The Council of Ministers declared Covid-19 a “dangerous contagious disease” and handed over all authority to the health ministry after annulling all previous measures. The five new positive cases since July 1 and the fact that some passengers flouted the quarantine rules made it necessary to adopt new measures. In this regard, the cabinet declared coronavirus as a communicable disease and then handed over all the responsibility to the health ministry under the 2018 dated law on communicable diseases. The health ministry personnel worked all night long to identify new rules on the entry and exit procedures to the north. The health ministry will issue a circular on the new decisions today (Monday).
- The freshwater flow will start in August – Agriculture and Natural Resources Minister Dursun Oğuz said the water is being supplied to households from the local sources at the moment. He added the freshwater supply pipeline from Turkey is currently being repaired and the work will be completed by August.
The government’s priority is something else
The protests launched by the shopkeepers against the second economic relief package has upset the coalition government. The parties have started communicating but there is still no outcome. The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of shopkeepers and artisans (KTEZO) have managed to draw the government’s attention with their protest march from Kyrenia to Nicosia. The government and the United Action Committee have started discussing the retailers’ demands but the government is holding back from taking necessary steps. Instead of finding remedies to the retailers’ problems the government is trying to facilitate entries without quarantine requirement for hotels and casinos. The retailers failed to become the priority of the government so far.
- The latest situation: North 113 cases, four deaths; South 1003 cases, 26 deaths; Turkey 205,758 cases, 5,225 deaths.
Penalties coming
The Health Ministry which has been fully authorized on entry & exit to the country brought clarification to quarantine rules and conditions as well as PCR testing with a circular published at 1:45 am. The Council of Ministers yesterday (Sunday) declared coronavirus as a ‘dangerous and contagious disease’ and granted full authority on the matter to the health ministry. Rules and regulations concerning entry and exit to the country through the air, land and seaports were re-decided at a meeting held until the early hours of the morning. Those working in the south will be required to undergo PCR testing every 14 days. Those arriving from abroad have been divided into three categories.
- Testing increased – While no new cases were detected in the north on Sunday, just one case was seen in the south.
All the decisions taken by the Council of Ministers annulled
The Council of Ministers finally took a step backwards and fully authorized the health ministry on Covid-19. Even though the reasons for such a move have not been explained, Covid-19 is now officially classified as a “dangerous communicable disease” in the north. Following the government’s “all decisions annulled” announcement, Kudret Özersay made another statement shocking everyone. He said: “The rules regulating entry into the north have not been changed.” Even though the cabinet said the health ministry will make the necessary announcement on the new rules, Ali Pilli did not make any. According to information obtained from sources close to the health ministry, Pilli will make the necessary announcement today (Monday).
- Our demands have been met – The Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association stated the cabinet’s decision had addressed its concerns.
- “The frequently changing decisions erode the public’s confidence in the authorities” – President Mustafa Akıncı said.
Main News
Covid-19 declared as “contagious disease”, health ministry to decide on rules
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The Council of Ministers, on Sunday, declared coronavirus as a “dangerous and contagious disease”, annulling all the measures regarding entry and exit into the north, all the dailies report on Monday.
The cabinet then handed all authority on determining rules on entry and exit to the health ministry.
Although the decisions were annulled by the cabinet, a circular issued by the health ministry in the early hours of Monday morning reinstated rules for entry into the north.
The new statement was only reported by Diyalog as most dailies had gone into print by the time the statement was made.
Apart from a few amendments, the rules and criteria remain the same.
The move is believed to be part of a manoeuvre for the dismissal of a ruling by the constitution court expected on Monday on the case filed by the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association concerning rules of entry in the north.
The cabinet on Sunday announced in a statement that it had fully authorized the Turkish Cypriot health ministry under the “Law on Contagious Diseases” to declare, adopt and implement any decision it felt necessary including the entry and exit into the north.
Naturally, the cabinet’s decision confused people, prompting many to express their annoyance or frustration on social media.
Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Özersay, to quell down the criticisms, said the rules on entry and exit into the north have not been annulled.
In a social media post on Sunday night, Özersay noted the health ministry will issue a circular with details on the rules.
On the other hand, Kıbrıs Postası argued that the Council’s decision to declare coronavirus as a communicable disease can only be explained with political reasoning.
The daily noted that the decision, which also revealed the fact that the Council has “forgotten” to declare the coronavirus as a contagious disease for 120 days, was adopted only hours before the court hearing for the case filed by the Turkish Cypriot Doctors’ Association (KTTB) on Monday morning.
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman argued the Council has proven the main opposition’s claim that all the decisions adopted by the cabinet to date had been unlawful.
In a social media post on Sunday night, Erhürman said not only had the cabinet admitted to adopting unlawful decisions, but it had also tried to dodge a court verdict to be given against the government by giving full authorisation to the health ministry.
“The cabinet with its decisions instigates concern and fuel chaos in the north. The people have lost their trust in the government fully,” Erhürman concluded.
“The Council of Ministers has delivered the demands made by the KTTB in its court case,” the Doctors’ Association said.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the KKTB welcomed the Council of Ministers’ decision to declare coronavirus as a communicable disease and to give full authority to the health ministry in line with the “Law on the Communicable Diseases.”
“The Council’s decision was exactly what KTTB was demanding from the court,” the statement read.
It recalled that the association had asked the court to annul the cabinet’s decision on allowing arrivals to enter the north without quarantine.
“It is our expectation the health ministry, which has been fully authorised with the Council’s decision on Sunday, will start implementing new entry procedures and measures in light of scientific data and compliance with the recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Union (EU),” KTTB said, urging the health ministry to convene the “Higher Committee for Contagious Diseases,” which is one of the decision-making provisions of the law.
However, a late-night circular issued by the Health Ministry revealed no change or the reintroduction of the mandatory quarantine rule expected by the Doctors’ Association.
According to the new decisions, all Turkish Cypriots who work, study or receive medical treatment in the south, as well as Greek Cypriots and Maronites living in the north, will be allowed to be cross through the crossing points on the condition they present a negative coronavirus test not older than 72 hours before their first crossing.
The same criteria will apply for Turkish Cypriots who reside on the Greek Cypriot side for other reasons.
Those individuals who fall in the above-mentioned category will have to repeat their PCR tests every 15 days.
All nationals, including Turkish Cypriots, will be allowed to cross into the north from the south without having to enter quarantine on the condition can provide proof that they have not travelled outside the south in the last 14 days and that they present a negative PCR test carried out in the last 72 hours.
Individuals who have travelled outside the south in the last 14 days and who wish to cross into the north will be subject to the conditions and regulations in place for the country of their arrival.
Passengers arriving from countries in category A are required to present a negative coronavirus test certificate not older than 72 hours.
Individuals who present a negative PCR test will not be required to enter quarantine.
However, arriving passengers who fail to present a negative PCR test will be required to remain in quarantine until the results of their locally carried PCR test are announced.
All costs will be covered by the individuals themselves.
Passengers from category B countries, have to present a negative coronavirus test and have to take a second test upon arrival.
Tourists who have hotel reservations will be required to self-isolate themselves at their hotels until their second PCR results are announced.
Hotels will be responsible for monitoring guests and making sure they follow the rules in place.
Those failing to comply with the rules will face legal prosecution.
Passengers who have residences in the TRNC will be required to self-isolate at home until their PCR results are announced.
Once again those who flout the rule will face legal prosecution under the Contagious Diseases Law.
Arrivals from category C countries will have to present a negative coronavirus test carried out in the last 72 hours upon arrival but will still be required to enter quarantine at a state-monitored facility for 14 days.
All costs will be covered by the individuals themselves.
Earlier on Sunday, President Mustafa Akıncı had expressed concern over the rise in coronavirus cases in the north.
It was the second consecutive day Akıncı criticized the authorities for the alarming situation in the north after five new cases were reported in four days.
In a statement posted on social media, he said that the frequently changing decisions made by the government were causing mistrust within the Turkish Cypriot community.
Akıncı argued that the mandatory 14-day quarantine requirement should be reintroduced for all arrivals via Turkey, irrespective of which country they were travelling from.
“The president, government and opposition must work together through these difficult times of health and economy. More importantly, the authorities must pay heed to the recommendations and views expressed by experienced health experts,” he said.
Akıncı pointed out that the fact that zero cases had been detected in the two-and-half months leading to July had led to complacency.
“The newly detected cases from people arriving abroad are raising concerns. The government needs to address these issues based on joint action and scientific data, he said.
Akıncı also pointed out that the public should continue to adhere to measures such as social distancing and wearing masks.
He also warned that some circles should not accuse him of stirring panic among the public.
“I am doing what I have been saying from the beginning. I want the health experts to determine the road map. I have no other concern but the public’s health. The economy is no doubt important but we have to be careful not to make matters worse while trying to be helpful,” he said.
Water from Turkey to start running again in August, says Oğuz
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs Postası, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Economy
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Agriculture and Natural Resources Dursun Oğuz on Sunday said that water from Turkey was expected to start flowing into the Geçitköy (Panagra) Dam as of August.
The pipeline supplying water from Turkey had been disrupted during the winter and water levels at the dam are at an all-time low.
Oğuz, speaking to the TAK news agency said no water cuts were planned and that local resources were put into use to meet demand.
He explained that the delay in the repair of the pipeline had been experienced due to the pandemic as the pipes were being custom produced in Turkey.
Oğuz also said that pumping water to the north from Turkey was cheaper than treating the water through desalinization plants.
The cost of desalinization would be ₺6.7 (€.0.87) per ton whereas the cost of the water from Turkey is ₺2.3 (₺0.30).