Cyprus to get on board with more measures

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades has called on the state’s attorney general to weigh in before a Wednesday Cabinet meeting when additional measures are expected to be announced in response to a surge in coronavirus cases right after the Christmas break.

Anastasiades on Tuesday reportedly called on Attorney General George Savvides, who previously served as a member of the President’s Cabinet, to offer a legal opinion on a number of possible proposed measures that ministers will discuss at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday morning at 9:30am.

One of the proposals following consultations between Anastasiades and Health Minister Michalis Hadjipantela included a measure where unvaccinated workers who are identified as contacts of infected persons would stay home without pay.

Local media said a number of proposed measures thought to be a done-deal included reopening schools as scheduled on January 10 but with rapid tests twice a week.

The Cyprus News Agency reported that a number of ministers in a meeting with the President on Tuesday were in favor of reopening schools, while other media outlets reported some experts favored pushing back the first day of classes until the government could have a better picture of the situation with the Omicron variant.

Last week a local doctor accused the government of failing to stick to a plan to minimize the spread of coronavirus, saying additional pandemic measures that go into effect this week should have been taken back in November.

The meeting takes place on day after the health ministry announced five deaths due to COVID-19, with known daily cases reaching 5457 on Tuesday.