The aim is to return Ladies Mile beach to the public in a few hours, Deputy Minister of Shipping Marina Hadjimanoli told reporters on Sunday.

A British Bases statement on Saturday said unsafe levels of enterococci were detected in the marine area of Ladies Mile and urged the public to stay out of the water for swimming. They also said they are actively working with environmental experts in the British Bases and the Republic of Cyprus to identify the source of the contamination and that further analysis results are expected early next week.

Asked by reporters to comment on the situation, the Deputy Minister, who was attending a Europa Uomo Cyprus event at the Bank of Cyprus Oncology Centre in Nicosia, said she had been informed by the relevant authorities and that ‘we have been monitoring from the very beginning and being kept informed of what is happening and the aim is to return the beaches back to the public, clean so that they can enjoy the most precious asset for me, which we have as an island nation.’

Asked if there was any concern that this could escalate, she said ‘it’s not a concern, it’s been closely monitored in conjunction with the British Bases from the very beginning and we believe that in a few hours we will be able to return the beach back to the public.’

Asked about the source of the contamination and whether the restaurants in the area are responsible, Hadjimanoli said that ‘all restaurants are always checked by the competent authorities, and especially during peak summer periods when people go to enjoy the sea, these investigations are always intensified’.

She urged the public ‘not to worry’ and expressed confidence that ‘we will be able to restore the situation as it was before’ and when the source of the contamination is identified, ‘we will announce it’.

Asked if the contamination is from sewage, Hadjimanoli said we cannot say at this time that it is from sewage. The important thing for us is to succeed in bringing the clean sea back to the world.”

Asked if there are also controls in the rest of the sea area of Limassol, Hadjimanoli replied that the competent authorities always control the seas and beaches “because we want to be sure that there is proper monitoring from our side as well, as we are responsible for the ships that sail in the sea so that it is not polluted from the sea but it is very important that it is not polluted from the land as well. They are both very important factors, we do not want to create any panic in the world, there is very good and proper work being done, not now, but we have started these preparations a very long time ago”.