President to announce Cyprus lockdown exit strategy

The eagerly-awaited government decisions on Cyprus’ lockdown exit strategy will be announced by President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, in a national address on Wednesday night.

At 8.30pm, Anastasiades is expected to issue his fifth televised national address since coronavirus broke out on the island on March 9.

The address is set to delve into decisions taken during the Wednesday morning meeting of the Cabinet that was chaired by the President, involving the concrete steps that are to be taken to ease restriction measures and restart the economy.

The meeting was informed by a lockdown exit proposal presented to the President on Tuesday by the expert group of epidemiologists consulting the government.

Several scenarios that have been circulating in recent days, some citing leaked documents, suggest that the first phase of the loosening of restriction measures will include an increase on the limit of SMS personal movement requests and the re-opening of small businesses.

A total of four stages are included in the plan according to reports, starting in early May with each phase rolled out every two weeks barring unforeseen circumstances. Shopping malls, airports, and churches are said to be included in the final stage later in the summer.