ARRIVALS BY AIR TO NORTH ONLY FOR 'CITIZENS'

 Cyprus Mail 15 September 2020 - by Evie Andreou

The Turkish Cypriot authorities announced they will not be allowing entry to foreign nationals flying into the north until Sunday as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, reports said on Tuesday.

According to Turkish Cypriot news portal Yeni Duzen, that cites a ‘Notam’ issued by the ‘transport ministry’, Tymbou airport will be closed to passengers except for ‘TRNC citizens’ their spouses and their dependents between September 16 and 20.

The ‘ministry’ told the news portal that if spouses and children of Turkish Cypriots are foreign nationals, they will not be allowed in the plane unless they are accompanied by their spouse or parent.

Though no more explanations were given, it is believed this measure is aimed at decongesting the quarantine centres in the north since it follows the decision last week to temporarily halt inbound flights until Wednesday (September 16) due to inadequate quarantine space for arriving passengers. These people stay in hotels monitored by authorities.

Turkish Cypriot authorities require people arriving from category B countries to quarantine for seven days, and people from category C countries for 14 days. People testing positive to coronavirus are also quarantined as are their contacts.

There has been a spike in coronavirus cases in the north in recent weeks. Fourteen cases were reported yesterday bringing the total to 607.