Coronavirus: Eateries want indoor dining, third SMS

The latest amendments in the operating protocols for bars, cafes and restaurants do not change much and need to be improved, General Secretary of the Pancyprian Association of Owners of Recreation Centres (Pasika) Fanos Leventis said on Wednesday.

Pasika will continue to work towards improving conditions for these establishments, Leventis said, especially concerning the operation of interior spaces as soon as possible and raising the allowance of daily texts from two to three.

Currently, only outdoor service is permitted. The curfew is 11 pm, while the public is allowed a total of two SMS a day.

On Tuesday, first day of the reopening of restaurants and cafes, the health ministry rolled back a controversial requirement on mask-wearing, saying clients should wear them only on entering, leaving and while moving about in the premises, but need not wear masks when seated at the table, as had initially been mandated. It also reversed a ban on music that would incite people to dance, even at their own table, although dancing remains prohibited.

In statements to the Cyprus News Agency on Wednesday, Leventis also called on all business owners and employees alike, without exception, to implement and observe with utmost rigour and reverence the regulations regardless of whether they agree or disagree.

The public visiting these businesses was also implored to do their part in keeping within the measures, with “a kind request to those tasked with supervising to do so in good faith and not just to make complaints,” Leventis said.

Finally, Leventis said that “we are all part of the equation” for a successful outcome.

“Let us prove what we have been saying for months and let us never again allow either our guilt or the unjust targeting of the recreation industry,” he concluded.