The Council of Ministers held a four-hour meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ersin Tatar on Tuesday.
After the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Government Spokesperson Kudret Özersay issued a statement regarding the decisions taken.
Amongst other topics, he said that visas for foreigners unable to leave the TRNC during the lockdown, would be extended for an additional 90 days. Özersay added that renewal of driving licences expired under lockdown would be extended until 15 July.
SÜHEYLA KÜÇÜK’S FUNERAL
Özersay stated that a decision was made about the funeral of Süheyla Küçük who died on Monday. Süheyla Küçük was the wife of Fazıl Küçük, a Turkish Cypriot politician who served as the first Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus. The funeral will be held at a state cemetery in the Anıttepe region.
SPECIAL MEETING
Özersay stated that the Council of Ministers decided to hold a special meeting on Thursday and shared the details of the meeting as follows:
“We have decided to hold a meeting in which we will decide on which countries, under what conditions, the visitors will be permitted to arrive in the TRNC, within the framework of the suggestions or recommendations of the Ministry of Health. We plan to share the outcome of the meeting with the public on Thursday.
“We will share the dates and conditions of departures and arrivals, and from which countries we will accept passengers without quarantine, provided that a PCR test has already been carried out.
“This will allow a more predictable situation to arise in advance, especially in the tourism sector.”
ONLINE EDUCATION WILL CONTINUE THROUGH SUMMER
Between 15 June and 30 September, it was decided that universities in the TRNC should be able to deliver online education during the summer recess. Under our laws, online education required special permission. We made a decision within the framework of the proposal brought by the Minister of Education. Online education will continue throughout the summer.
VISITORS IN THE COUNTRY ON A TOURIST VISA
Reminding that foreigners who came to the TRNC on a tourist visa and were unable to leave the country because of the Covid-19 pandemic and are currently in the country, an exceptional decision was made that allowed them to be legally in the country for a further 90 days. [This article does not give details of how this might work. LGC News telephoned the TRNC representative office in London. A person we spoke to said she was not sure how this would work but assumed that given that there are no flights out of the TRNC at the moment, the extension would be automatic. Ed]
Özersay said, “A decision was taken to allow these people to be allowed to stay up to 90 days without penalty, so that their status does not become illegal,” he said.
POSTPONED PACKAGE TOURS
Before 13 March 2020; In other words, Özersay also spoke about citizens who bought package tours from tourism agencies prior to the pandemic measures and said, “A decision has been produced that will enable citizens who purchase package tours and cannot use them due to the epidemic, with various options in the coming period. The decision was made for the citizens to take their holiday in the future or to give them holiday coupons ”.
EXPIRED DRIVING LICENSES
On the other hand, Özersay spoke about expired driving licenses during the epidemic and said, “A decision was made to extend it until 15 July 2020 without paying a penalty.”
WEDDINGS
Özersay also made a statement about the weddings that were arranged before lockdown. He reminded that weddings could be held as of July 1, if there is no significant change in the current conditions.
FESTIVALS AND OTHER PUBLIC EVENTS
The temporary ban on holding festivals and and other public events under the measures taken during the Covid-19 epidemic has been lifted.
WATER PROJECT
Finally, Özersay stated that the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources had given a presentation about the repair of the undersea water pipeline during the meeting of the Council of Ministers, “The presentation regarding the coming months will show how long the process of repairing the existing water pipeline will take supply will take, water demand and production of new piping. Officials of the Republic of Turkey will be consulted on this issue,” he said.
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