Coronavirus: Larnaca street art says ‘thanks’ to health professionals

Street art has gone up on a busy Larnaca street to send a ‘big thank you’ to health professionals who are in the first line of defence against the coronavirus pandemic.

During the unveiling of the street art on Georgiou Christodoulides avenue near the K-Cineplex roundabout, the artist Christos Kakoullis and the general secretary of Akel Andros Kyprianou said the gesture is the least they can do to express their gratitude to doctors and nurses. The project is an initiative of Akel district committee in Larnaca.

Decorated with balloon hearts, the piece shows a nurse in scrubs and a face mask reading “thank you” in Greek and English on either side.

“Today we took the first step to say thank you to all those who are fighting against the pandemic,” the artist said.

Kakoullis broke the official world record for the smaller painting created back in 2017.

After expressing their appreciation, both the artist and Kyprianou called for an immediate solution to financial problems besetting state hospitals.

“I hope the second step is to solve all the problems they have, because by sacrificing their own lives, they try to help their fellow human beings,” Kakoullis added.

In his statements, Kyprianou said state doctors and nurses face many long-standing issues and some coronavirus patients must be transferred to private clinics.

“Public hospitals run the risk of serious financial problems when the pandemic is over… they have no income, because they deal with pandemic incidents and private hospitals are left completely out. It is our demand that a plan be drawn up that transfers part of the problem and its response to the private sector,” he said.