Local anti-Covid measures in Limassol are not the solution for the time being, according to Petros Karayiannis, Professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the University of Nicosia Medical School.

“New measures specifically targeted at Limassol are indeed a possibility, but only if the situation gets out of control,” Karayiannis, who is also a member of the health ministry’s advisory committee, told Cyprus Mail on Wednesday.

President Nicos Anastasiades on Tuesday night criticised groups of people in Limassol for not complying with the Covid-19 health decrees, in an address to the nation.

He singled out the carnival gathering on Sunday in Limassol whereby hundreds of people took to the streets in defiance of the health measures.

“For the last time, before the epidemiological data forces us to take new strict and possibly local measures, I call on all my fellow citizens to realise that I will not allow the country, due to the reckless and unconscious behaviour of a minority to suffer in its entirety,” the president said.

Karayiannis, however, argued that the epidemiological picture cannot yet justify the implementation of local measures in Limassol.

“Surely, we are taking the option into consideration, but we have not crossed that bridge yet and, hopefully, we won’t have to.”

He confirmed that potential new measures for Limassol could include a partial lockdown of the city or an earlier curfew time.

On Tuesday, the health ministry announced one death and 475 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, with a positivity rate of 0.99 per cent, taking Cyprus past the 40,000 cases mark.

In Limassol 11,207 rapid tests yielded 129 positives, registering a positivity rate of 1.15 per cent, the highest among districts in the island.

From March 1 to March 15, Limassol residents accounted for about 90 per cent of Covid-19 deaths. And in the past two week, the district accounted for 2788 or 61 per cent of the 4571 cases recorded.