Coronavirus: Measures to stay in place until mid-May says minister

The current measures against the spread of coronavirus will remain in place until at least mid-May, Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Monday, pointing out there will be no tightening of measures either.

The minister told state broadcaster CyBC radio that the government has decided not to introduce further relaxations until mid-May. This decision is expected to be ratified by the cabinet, he said.

He also said they were not thinking of tightening measures either since no one wishes repeated disruption of financial activity.

Ioannou participated in an emergency meeting at the Presidential Palace on Sunday under President Nicos Anastasiades along with the ministers of finance and labour following the surge in cases in recent days and record hospital admissions.

According to Ioannou, in recent weeks there has been very low compliance of people with the measures while the tracing process shows that contacts of confirmed coronavirus cases do not self-isolate. He also said that in many cases, employers conceal coronavirus cases among their staff.

Ioannou said vaccinations was key to tackling the pandemic and that the goal is to vaccinate 70 per cent of the population by the end of June. He said this goal was feasible.

According to the minister, 40,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine would be received on Monday while by the end of June, Cyprus will receive a total of 600,000 doses of Pfizer, about 350,000 of AstraZeneca and about 80,000 of Moderna.

He estimated that within the next two weeks there will be the possibility of vaccinating 70,000 to 75,000 people.

Ioannou also said that the decision to reduce the time between the two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, from twelve to eight weeks, may be announced on Tuesday.

As regards schools, Ioannou said it was too early to say whether their closure would be extended after the Easter holidays, since, the situation could change, either for the better or for the worse. He pointed out that increased transmission has been shown among young ages and that the intention of the government is that primary school students return to schools in May, by presenting a negative coronavirus test.