The former chief physician at Nicosia State Hospital Dr Bülent Dizdarlı, has warned the government against rushing to open some government departments and sectors of the economy in order bring revenue to the state.
“If we start social life without a pandemic hospital, there will be tragedy. I am not saying that there could be a tragedy, I am saying that there will be”, he said on a television broadcast. Noting that Cyprus has never experienced pandemic disease, Dr Dizdarlı warned that there should be no relaxation of the current restrictions.
In addition, Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Kibris’ writes that the president of the Association of Biologists Hasan Sarpten stated that the possibility of opening certain sectors of the economy and some state departments is a cause for concern and could lead to the continued spread of Covid-19. In a written statement, Sarpten said it was not yet possible to prevent the pandemic internationally and that the only option still available was social isolation and preventing contact.
He further added that normalisation is extremely important, especially in a country that is struggling to cope. However, the government’s statements that “we have moved in a horizontal direction regarding the spread of the disease are causing concern, looking at the fact that the number of cases has been low in recent days and then opening of some sectors and government departments by lifting the restrictions. So it’s ridiculous, at least for a few weeks, to create an atmosphere of ‘overcoming the virus’ by doing what no other country in the world has done and saying that we have achieved a success that will set an example for the whole world.”, Sarpten said.
Afrika, Kibris