President seeks consensus to relax measures

Health experts on the government’s pandemic task force met with President Nicos Anastasiades on Tuesday, with reports saying the commander in chief got the nod to proceed with scheduled relaxing of measures but details were still not fully clear.

Members of the administration’s epidemiology team, who met with Anastasiades on Tuesday morning, have relayed their expectations to the president regarding the next step in relaxing restrictions currently in place to stop further spread of COVID-19.

According to Kathimerini Cyprus, the health experts have told Anastasiades that the re-opening of restaurants next week could proceed but without ruling out partial restrictions such as only outdoor patios being allowed to operate.

The President has also been told that junior high school students, whose return to the classroom was pushed back last week amid a rise in daily cases, could move forward next week, provided that teenagers will need to test negative on a weekly basis in order to be allowed to sit in class.

Anastasiades, who has been eager to see a a reactivation of the economy through a gradual relaxation of measures, has been weighing options over the last few weeks amid mixed results and setbacks as well as debate between stakeholders in various sectors and industries.

The President is expected to hold a similar meeting Wednesday on the economy, with a dozen agencies and trade unions having a seat at the table. A Cabinet decision is expected later that day, with reports saying no big changes were anticipated in the gradual easing of restrictions.

"We are able to take some risks, but with caution," task force member Petros Karayiannis told RIK news on Tuesday.