Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou will announce the new, stricter measures against the further spread of coronavirus, on Friday after a cabinet meeting.

The announcement is expected at around 1pm.

A three-week ‘lockdown’ seems the likeliest scenario, including a return to the SMS system, and permission for two outings per day.

The reasons to leave home will probably be the same as last spring – doctor visits, shopping for essentials, helping out people in need – with the probable addition of a request to undergo a rapid test.

Primary and secondary education pupils are expected to continue the online courses.

The government was initially expected to announce the new restrictions on Thursday but postponed it to Friday to give the finance and labour ministries time to prepare the various support schemes for businesses.