Front Page Headlines
No agreement on the minimum wage: Worker reps: Gross wage of ₺4,900 (€542). Employer reps: No increase should be made
There was no agreement on determining a new minimum wage. The commission in charge of setting the minimum wage will meet again on January 27 to give the final decision. An informal meeting is expected to take place on January 25 at 5pm.
Don’t discriminate between the vaccines
Health Minister Ali Pilli clarified the debate among the people on whether to “get the Chinese or the European vaccine” and said: “All the vaccines have been approved by scientists and experts” and called on the people to be vaccinated with whichever of the two vaccines are available.
- Vaccination of the people 80-years-old and above starts today (Wednesday) – Vaccination will be done at five centres.
- Those vaccinated must also abide by face mask, social distancing and hygiene rules – Dr Özlem Gürkut spoke about the steps to be taken and gave information on the vaccines.
- Coronavirus screening in Lapta (Lapithos) – Lapta (Lapithos) Municipality implemented measures due to a surge in local Covid-19 cases and carried out PCR tests for everyone.
The ordeal of getting vaccinated
The Health Ministry, unbelievably, came up with a vaccination plan for people aged 80 and above, announcing that the vaccinations will be carried out at only five vaccination centres. In an announcement issued by the Health Ministry, people in the specified age group are invited to the Nicosia Pandemic Centre, Kyrenia Hospital, Güzelyurt (Morphou) Health Centre, Yenierenköy (Yialousa) Health Centre and Maraş (Varosha) Health Centre to get vaccinated. The Health Ministry’s decision is regarded scandalous as the 28 Municipalities, each with fully equipped health centres and nurses, have not been included in the plan. Now it will be even more difficult for people in that age group who may suffer from serious health problems, to reach one of the vaccination centres.
- Chaos just reaches a new high each day – Main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) leader Tufan Erhürman criticised the government’s inability to manage the crisis.
Difficult test
Health Minister Ali Pilli announced that 4,968 people were vaccinated in the first four days, saying that vaccinations for citizens above the age of 80 will begin as of today (Wednesday). Pilli said that among those vaccinated were health care professionals in the public and private sectors, veterinarians, pharmacists and students studying medicine. He added that the next in line were seniors above the age of 80 who would be vaccinated by Friday.
- Intensive preparations for 2021 – Despite the pandemic, 631,000 tourists visited South Cyprus in 2020, 239,000 visited North Cyprus.
The police officer who shot a migrant, awarded citation
Sadi Sancak, who shot and injured an undocumented migrant attempting to enter the north illegally in Yayla (Syrianochori) on July 9, 2020, has received a commendation. Police Commissioner Ahmet Soyalan, when presenting the citation, thanked Sancak for his courage and bravery.
- Narin Şefik: We will not handover our citizen to another country.
- 191 Turkish Cypriots died in the UK.
- Vaccination programme announced for people aged 80 and above.
- 164 positive cases of coronavirus and one death in the south, 23 cases in the north…
Main News
Close to 5,000 people vaccinated in the north so far
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli on Tuesday announced that 4,968 people have been vaccinated to date, rejecting claims that preferential treatment was given to some people regarding the Pfizer vaccines.
Pilli said as of Tuesday, 24 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines and 4,944 Sinovac’s CoronaVac vaccines were administered as part of the north’s vaccination programme. He reminded that health professionals and workers employed in the public and private sectors were being given priority.
The vaccination drive is currently being carried out at five centres and will gradually be carried out at nine and then 15 in the coming weeks. 1,080 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines reserved for the Turkish Cypriot community were delivered and handed over to Turkish Cypriot officials on Monday morning. 20,000 doses of CoronaVac vaccines produced by Chinese Sinovac were delivered on January 14 from Turkey.
In the meantime, Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar, in a statement issued on Tuesday, expressed gratitude to doctors and health workers in the fight against the pandemic. He also recalled that High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell had confirmed that the EU will continue to send vaccines allocated for the Turkish Cypriot community.
Tatar also thanked Turkey for supporting the Turkish Cypriots in all aspects during the pandemic process.
Six irregular migrants arrested, five on the run
Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Migration and Citizenship
OVERVIEW
Six undocumented Syrian migrants, who arrived by boat at an unidentified location near Famagusta, were detained by police near the Akyar (Strovilia) crossing point on Monday, January 18.
The police first took the migrants to the Famagusta Hospital for medical checks and PCR tests before settling them in an undisclosed quarantine facility.
The migrants told the police that after they had been dropped off at a beach near Famagusta, another individual met up with them and took them to a location near the Akyar (Strovilia) crossing point. The migrants also told the police they were initially a group of 11 but the other five went in another direction.
Turkish, Greek teams resume talks at NATO
Kıbrıs, Havadis, Diyalog
Regional/International Relations
OVERVIEW
Turkish and Greek military representatives have completed their meeting as part of a de-confliction mechanism launched by NATO, a week before the much-anticipated exploratory talks, scheduled on January 25.
The mechanism was launched by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the autumn of 2020 to avoid a potential armed conflict between the two allies whose ties were severely strained due to the overlapping continental shelf claims in the eastern Mediterranean.
In the meantime, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will pay a two-day visit to Brussels on January 20. A foreign ministry statement said the Minister will hold high-level meetings with the European Council, European Commission officials and meet with the members of the European Parliament.
As part of his busy schedule, Çavuşoğlu will also meet NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg “to discuss bilateral and multilateral relations.” During the talks in Brussels, all aspects of Turkey-EU relations, Turkey’s accession process, current regional and international issues are expected to be discussed. Turkey’s expectations for progress in Turkey-EU relations through a positive agenda will be conveyed.