Front Page Headlines
“The decisions were adopted late, we experienced misery”
Head of the Department of Chest Diseases at the Dr Burhan Nalbantoğlu hospital, Dr Mustafa Akansoy, said that the full lockdown should be for at least two weeks. “We would have had zero cases today if these decisions had been adopted five weeks ago. We wouldn’t have had this many patients or deaths,” he said.
- 2,250 more doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines arrive
- New minimum wage: Gross ₺4,400(€517), Net: ₺3,828 (€449)
Murder in Nicosia with an “Adze”
34-year-old Halil Ibrahim Mengi was found dead in the bathroom of his home in Ortaköy (Ortakeuy, Nicosia) yesterday afternoon. It was determined that Mengi died as a result of blows to his head and face. His fiancée, with whom he had been living with and his fiancée’s aunt were arrested as suspects.
- The decisions changed – The Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases amended its decisions adopted the other day (Thursday) following pressure from sectors. The full lockdown entered into force last night. All businesses other than pharmacies and bakeries will be closed on Sunday. Additions have also been made to the list of sectors that will be allowed to open. Petrol stations, greengrocers, butchers/fishmongers and supermarkets will be open from 9am to 5pm.
- Locally transmitted infection on the rise – 74 new positive coronavirus cases were recorded yesterday. Two of the cases came to the TRNC via air travel, 30 cases were identified in Nicosia, 34 in Kyrenia, three in Famagusta, two in Güzelyurt (Morphou), and one in Lefke (Lefka).
- Minimum wage puzzle – Ministry of Labour and Social Security announced the new minimum wage has been identified as gross ₺4,400 (€517), however the employers’ representatives did not attend the meeting and the employees’ representatives did not sign on to the decision. Both will object the decision, arguing it is not valid.
Latest decision
The Higher Health Committee put into force the measures it adopted after revising them yesterday. All supermarkets, bakeries, butchers and fishmongers will be open between 9am and 5pm until February 15. However, all, with the exception of pharmacies and bakeries, will be closed on Sunday. Pharmacies will be open between 8am and 3:30pm. All movement between districts will stop. Private and public schools will remain closed until February 17. Banks to close between February 8-12.
Demanding overdue interest
KIB-TEK (Turkish Cypriot Electricity Authority) has gone mad after it announced it would not accept late payments due to the lockdown. KIB-TEK announced: “Interest will be charged on overdue bills that fall between February 5-15.” EL-SEN (Electricity Authority Workers’ Union) are outraged with KIB-TEK’s ‘decision. Head of EL-SEN Kubilay Özkıraç said: “We can’t keep quiet against such injustice.”
- 74 – The number of cases does not drop below 70.
- The mutated virus arrives here as well – Tests carried out by Near East University revealed that a mutated variant of the coronavirus has arrived in the country. Tests confirmed that the latest surge in Covid-19 cases is the result of the new strain of the virus first found in the UK.
- The new minimum wage: ₺4,400 (€517) – The new minimum wage is set at ₺4,400 (€517) during the meeting which the employers’ representatives did not attend.
Main News
New batch of Pfizer vaccines received as north enters full lockdown
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Internal Security
OVERVIEW
The latest batch of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines for the Turkish Cypriot community was delivered to the north on Friday morning through the Metehan (Agios Dhometios) crossing point, the Turkish Cypriot health ministry announced.
The delivery of 2,250 doses of the vaccine was organised by the members of the bicommunal technical committee on health. Turkish Cypriot Health Minister Ali Pilli announced that the administration of the latest batch of vaccines would begin on February 8.
He added that people who were set to receive their second jabs would be able to do so at the Train Station Polyclinic in Nicosia and the İskele (Trikomo) Polyclinic on the date specified on their vaccination cards.
Meanwhile, the Near East University’s Experimental Health Sciences Research Institute (DESAM) on Friday announced that it has detected the UK variant in the PCR samples it analysed at its lab.
The first sample was detected on January 3 while on February 3, eight of the ten samples examined carried the Β117 variant. DESAM professor Professor Dr Tamer Şanlıdağ said the variant was spreading easily in the community and was responsible for the surge in cases in recent days.
He said that the variant raises the infection rate of the virus by 50 per cent to 78 per cent and the R0 (reproduction rate) from 0.4 to 0.7. He added that the R0 in the north currently stood at 3.25 per cent.
The latest announcement caught the health ministry off guard as Pilli had announced a month ago that samples were sent to Turkey to determine whether the new variants had arrived but no statement was made on the issue. Health Ministry officials also did not comment on the latest news.
The north entered a full lockdown on Friday evening as cases continued to rise, leading the authorities to question whether the health system could cope. 74 cases were detected on Friday just a day after the highest number of daily cases were reported in a single day
Though measures were announced earlier in the week, including a traffic ban in all districts until February 10. The Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases stated that the measures already in place were not enough to prevent the spread of the virus and stricter ones were needed.
In light of the developments, it said, it was deemed essential to implement a full lockdown until February 15. Banks, public offices and all sectors except for essential services will also remain closed until February 15.
Only pharmacies, petrol stations, bakeries, greengrocers, butchers and supermarkets as well as suppliers will be allowed to operate between 8am and 5pm. All these businesses, except pharmacies, will be closed on Sundays. Restaurants offering delivery services must also suspend operations.
During this period only Turkish Cypriots and permanent residents in the north who have been in the UK, Netherlands, Denmark and South Africa for the last 14 days are permitted to enter the north provided that they stay in central quarantine for 14 days.
The infectious diseases committee on Friday revised the measures for a second time, following pressure from various sectors. The committee broadened the list of businesses which will remain open to include internet service providers, GSM companies, cafeterias at university dormitories, private labs, private medical practices and suppliers that deliver to these sectors.
New minimum wage set despite objections
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
Economy
OVERVIEW
The Turkish Cypriot Ministry of Labour and Social Security on Friday announced the new minimum wage in the north as gross ₺4,400 (€517). The new minimum wage will come into force on February 1. The previous increase in minimum wage was made in February 2020, setting the figure at gross ₺3,820 (€449).
The new rate was set by the government representatives despite the objections of workers’ representatives. The employers’ representatives did not attend the meeting of the committee in charge of setting the wage.
Angered by the government’s refusal to find a middle ground and for passing the rate without their approval, the workers’ representatives said they will challenge the decision in court, as well as the new rate, claiming it is too low.
Meanwhile, the Turkish Cypriot cabinet started to make ₺1500 (€176) payments to employees of businesses that have closed as a result of the lockdown.
NATO de-confliction talks completed
Yenidüzen, Kıbrıs, Diyalog, Avrupa
External Security
OVERVIEW
The latest round of NATO de-confliction talks between Turkish and Greek military delegations were concluded on Friday, the Turkish National Defence Ministry said in a statement. This was the ninth technical meeting held at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The goal was to discuss establishing a de-confliction mechanism between the two countries amid disputes about maritime boundaries and related issues, designed to reduce the risk of incidents and accidents in the Eastern Mediterranean. It includes the creation of a hotline between Turkey and Greece to facilitate de-confliction at sea or in the air.
In the meantime, Turkey and Greece launched a new round of exploratory talks to resolve disputes in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean on January 25, following a five-year hiatus.