Cyprus announces 2-week lockdown: Suspension of all restaurants and retail outlets

Suspension of operation all restaurants, barbershops, hairdressers, gyms and retail stores, travel by 1 sms per day and small exceptions for Easter Sunday, announced the Minister of Health, Konstantinos Ioannou.

More specifically, from Monday, April 26, 2021, at 5 in the morning, until Sunday, May 9, 2021, at midnight, the Council of Ministers decided that:

• Traffic is prohibited from 9 pm to 5 am the next day except in the following cases:
• (a) going to and from workplaces, as well as for work purposes using the Employee Traffic Certificate Form
• (b) Go to a medical center or hospital or pharmacy or veterinarian for medical emergencies
• Prohibition of gatherings, public or social events, regardless of private or public space, indoor or outdoor (eg squares, dams, picnic areas, marinas)
• Exceptionally and only for Easter Sunday (May 2), in addition to the permanent residents, the presence in the homes of persons is allowed provided that they come from only two families and provided that the total number of persons in the household does not exceed 10 persons, including of minors.
• It is only permitted to travel once per person by texting to 8998. For switching to COVID-19 vaccination, no texting is required.
• Church worship and other forms of religious worship in religious places will be performed without the presence of believers.
• Religious ceremonies (weddings, baptisms, funerals) with a maximum number of 10 people are allowed.
• The presence of believers in places of religious worship is permitted for the purposes of individual prayer and with a maximum number of 10 people inside the place.
• Only for the Resurrection Mass on Holy Saturday (May 1) the presence of believers in the courtyard of the sanctuaries is allowed, in accordance with the distance measure and the sanitary protocol that applies to the operation of the churches and provided that arrangements will be made for the attendees to attend sitting . Inside the temples, only on Holy Saturday is allowed the presence of up to 50 people, according to the protocol. On all other days of Holy Week, the presence of believers in places of religious worship, whether indoors or outdoors, is prohibited.
• On Holy Saturday (May 1), to facilitate the participation of the faithful in the Resurrection Sequence, instead of 9 pm on Saturday, the travel ban begins at 1 am (Holy Saturday to Easter Sunday). All other days, the travel ban remains in place (9 pm).
• Public services are subject to mandatory teleworking for at least 20% of staff, with the exception of essential and other services to be determined by Decree.
• Private service companies are allowed the simultaneous physical presence of 20% of their staff, with a minimum number of employees of 3 persons and a maximum number of 25 persons per professional establishment / legal entity.
• Increase the rate of mandatory rapid detection tests on a weekly basis by 50% of employees. It is understood that companies / services that will have a physical presence of up to five (5) people, the test is mandatory for all five people.
• The operation of all restaurants (restaurants, taverns, cafes, pubs, snack bars and bars, cafes and restaurants within shopping malls, canteens and / or sports clubs, cultural clubs, clubs, clubs, etc.) is suspended, with the exception of their services related to home delivery and take away. After 9 pm only home delivery is allowed.
• The operation of outdoor and indoor theaters, amphitheaters, cinemas, and theaters is suspended.
• The operation of retail businesses is suspended, except for retail beverages and food businesses or businesses selling essential items as defined in the Decree.
• The operation of gyms, dance schools and schools of other sports is suspended. Personal training is allowed in open outdoor areas where access is allowed under the Decree with a maximum of two people.
• The operation of gambling and betting companies is suspended.
• The operation of barbershops, hairdressers and beauty salons is suspended.
• All group tutoring, as well as sports and social activities for children under 18 are prohibited. Of course, distance learning is allowed as well as teaching with the physical presence of up to two people including the instructor (1 + 1).

Mr. Ioannou reiterated that in addition to the observance of personal protection measures, the only way to stop the aggressive transmission caused by the mutated strains, is vaccination. To this end, he said, we are accelerating the pace of vaccination coverage, based on the rapid shielding of a larger percentage of the population, at least with the first dose of the vaccine. Those Personal Doctors who wish will also join this battle. Our goal, he concluded, with the vaccination is to achieve asymptomatic and / or mild disease, which in turn prevents hospitalization and death.