Front Page Headlines
Odyssea’s demands, recipe for a shipwreck
The Auditor-general is trying to put obstacles to the loans for businesses. Banks are negative to the use of the scheme if the subsidies are placed under control. Similar schemes have been already approved by the European Commission.
- Coronavirus: one death, 38 new cases
- Stranded abroad: 5,000 applications (for repatriation)
- National Guard officers on street patrols
- 5G witch-hunt (many have linked the latest technology with coronavirus, while they see 5G towers everywhere despite that the government has not given any licences yet)
Each day hospitals are affected more
The virus has been invading without any obstacles all departments and attacks health professionals. Asymptomatic carriers who make 20 per cent of the known cases, are ‘a time bomb’.
- New epidemiological study: One in four patients with Covid-19 needs treatment in hospital
- EU: Movement restrictions until May 15: It concerns airports, ports but also crossings
- Tourism will turn 30 years back
- Informing foreign nationals ahead of Catholic Easter
First line staff must be supported
AKEL will continue to exert pressure, always with constructive and positive proposals, and affect the decisions taken by the government, its leader Andros Kyprianou stressed yesterday. The government’s measures are along the lines of AKEL’s philosophy which initially were demonised!
- The Paphos hospital has been closed for four weeks
- They forced the blind telephone operators who were positive to coronavirus to continue working
‘Too early to call a trend’
Cases back up with 38 new, one more death.
- More than 5,000 people stuck abroad asking to come back
Chloroquine administered to 42 patients
The drug’s administration has begun, no results yet. Soon, Avigan will be administered to the first 20 patients who will take part in the clinical study carried out by Japan’s authorities.
- Mustafa Akinci: Everyone to be made to wear respiratory masks
- Easter in Cyprus and Greece without the faithful in churches – Archbishop: We will implement the protection measures against coronavirus.
Main News
Hospitals badly hit by corona as mass testing of first line workers starts
Alithia, Cyprus Mail, Haravgi, Phileleftheros, Politis
Internal Security, Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The main items in all papers on Friday continue to be about coronavirus as one more death was recorded, and 38 new cases were detected bringing the total to 564.
Experts reiterated the need to trace the asymptomatic carriers of the virus which are one in five of the known cases.
The dailies report that a 78-year-old woman with underlying health issues who died in the intensive care unit in Nicosia by Covid-19 was the 10th person to die of coronavirus. So far 15 people died; 10 from Covid-19 while the rest through they had coronavirus, died from other causes.
Citing the latest data by the health ministry’s epidemiological unit released on Thursday, the papers report that among the cases until April 7 (493), some 25.4 per cent were healthcare workers (125), of which 5.7 per cent physicians (28), 13.2 per cent nurses (65), 2.2 per cent other health occupations (11), and 4.3 per cent auxiliary staff (21).
The total coronavirus cases as of April 7 by age group included 27 infants, children and adolescents aged 0-17 years old (5.6 per cent), 317 adults aged 18-59 years (65.5 per cent), and 140 persons aged 60 years and over (28.9 per cent).
Cyprus Mail reports that Dr Marios Loizou, scientific director at the health services organisation (Okypy) said that it was still too early to call the trend.
“Although the numbers show us that are possibly on a good trajectory, both in terms of cases but also patient hospitalisations, this should not make us complacent,” he said according to the paper.
Phileleftheros reports that the more the lab tests the more cases are detected while as random tests increase so do concerns since new cases reveal people who, under normal circumstances would have not been diagnosed since they do not fall under the criteria set by the protocols. These people are in their majority asymptomatic carriers who, the health minister admitted are ‘a time bomb’.
The daily also reports that the majority of asymptomatic carriers concerns younger people with the average being 44 years. There have been cases however of people over 80 who tested positive but had no symptoms, the paper reported.
Politis and Phileleftheros report that the virus continues to severely hit hospitals with 25 per cent of all confirmed cases concerning hospital staff. Five of the 38 new cases concern state hospital staff; three at the Makarios hospital and two at that of Limassol. A dialysis unit patient at the Paphos hospital was also among the new cases.
Haravgi reports that main opposition AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou expressed concerns over the situation in hospitals and blamed the employer of state hospital staff Okypy of not securing the protective gear necessary for the healthcare professionals.
Kyprianou called on the health minister to immediately intervene to ensure hospitals and their staff have the necessary support and that Okypy operates effectively. He also called on Okypy to make sure the protective gear is distributed to the staff instead of being kept in storage rooms, the paper reported.
Haravgi also reports that the testing for first line professionals working in hospitals, the police, the National Guard and the central prisons will start on the weekend while by Monday the random testing will also start to trace asymptomatic carriers.
The papers also cite Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides who said on Thursday that more than 5,000 people stuck abroad have expressed an interest in being repatriated. The minister said they would give priority to people in vulnerable groups arguing that under the current conditions and advice from the experts, it is not possible to simultaneously grant the wish of everyone to return home.
They also report that the government said that Archbishop Chrysostomos gave reassurances during a meeting with President Nicos Anastasiades that the Church would make sure that all measures aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus would be followed to the letter during the Easter holidays.
Government spokesman Kyriacos Kousios said after the meeting that the Archbishop said that church services during the Holy Week would be carried out without a congregation present. The Church would be the one to decide on the possible repetition of the main Easter service at a later date, to allow people to attend if conditions allowed, Kousios said, according to the papers.
Call on Schengen zone states to prolong ban on unnecessary travel to EU
Phileleftheros
EU Matters, CBMs
OVERVIEW
The daily reports that the European Commission has called on Schengen member states and states associated with the Schengen zone to prolong the temporary restriction on non-essential travel to the EU until May 15.
According to the daily this decision indirectly also concerns the Green Line and crossings.
The travel restriction, as well as the invitation to extend it, applies to the ‘EU+ area’, which includes all Schengen member states (including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania) and the four Schengen Associated States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), 30 countries in total.
For island countries such as Cyprus, where traffic is essentially through airports, this is interpreted as an extension of existing measures in relation to flights, at least until May 15, while indirectly but clearly also their expansion in relation to the ‘Green Line’ and crossings, the paper said.
Elsewhere in the paper, in a comment, Phileleftheros, reports that the chartered flights for the repatriation of TCs directly go to the north instead of first stopping at Turkey.
The comment says that there have been various repatriation flights lately from and to the UK, Germany and one to Iraq.
Though it is understandable that the pandemic is a matter of life and death and everything else comes second, knowing Turkey and her followers in the occupied areas, this will not end here, the comment said.
The de facto direct flights which was a desire of all the occupation leaders might become de jure while there is no trust that the pseudo state would end them for the sake of (any) negotiations for the solution of the Cyprus problem. Nor Britain can be trusted to respect international law, it never has, anyway, the comment said.
Number of deaths of British Cypriots on the rise
Alithia, Cyprus Mail
Human Rights
OVERVIEW
The dailies report that around 150 Cypriots died of coronavirus in the UK.
Citing what Parikiaki, a Greek Cypriot community newspaper widely distributed in London told the Cyprus News Agency, the papers report that from reports and data collated, 95 GCs, 55 TCs and one Maronite died in the London area, as well as two GCs residing in Birmingham.
The vast majority of deceased British Cypriots were aged over 60 but there was no information on how many of them had a pre-existing condition.
Cyprus Mail reports that assuming the estimates are correct, the number of deceased British Cypriots accounted for 2.18 per cent of all coronavirus-related deaths in the UK, based on Wednesday’s tally. Parikiaki estimated that, beyond the deceased, 300 British Cypriots are confirmed carriers, several of them hospitalised.
It also reported that the GC community has mobilised a volunteer-based support network to assist the elderly and vulnerable groups whereas the High Commission of Cyprus in the UK stands ready to provide support to families who have lost a loved one, the papers report.