Another member of the team of scientists advising the government on the coronavirus situation has voiced concern over overcrowding at cafeterias and restaurants where self-protection measures and especially distances are not being adhered to.
Dr. Petros Karayiannis told the Cyprus News Agency on Monday the team was worried because should there be transmission of the virus it will be hard to know the source of the infection and tracing will be difficult.
Earlier, another member of the team, Dr Leontios Kostrikis echoed similar concerns telling CyBC that there was lack of discipline and overcrowding on Limassol’s coastal avenue, mostly from young people.
“People are behaving as if the virus is gone. It’s not gone, it’s among us,” Kostrikis said.
Karayiannis was asked about repatriations, in view of the decision to scrap mandatory quarantine from today. He urged repatriates to take the situation seriously and adhere to self-isolation rules responsibly. All will be tested on arrival, he noted.
When the airports re-open on 9 June, Karayiannis said that there will be at least three hotels for quarantine, if tourists become ill.
He expressed the view hotels are ready to open and are prepared, according to the decrees. There are enough outdoor areas and he did not believe there will be crowding.
Regarding the opening of churches, he said everything went smoothly with the priests completely aware of what to do and there was order inside the churches.
As far as beaches are concerned, he said due to the weather conditions, it was not possible to see if people were maintaining distances or if the sunbeds were properly disinfected.
“Even if they spray we have to ensure that when the wind blows, it doesn’t take away the spray or dries it quickly and doesn’t have time to act. It is something that the municipalities need to handle well,” he added.
Cyprus must allow 15 days to see the results of the second relaxation of the lockdown measures.
