PEOPLE NEEDED TO MANAGE THERMAL CAMERAS

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

The Ministry of Health announced a tender for the purchase of services by health professionals for the management of thermal cameras at Larnaca and Paphos airports.

The Purchasing and Procurement Department of the Ministry of Health invites all Nurses and/or Health Officers and/or physiotherapists interested in offering their services under a public contract regarding the tender for the purchase of services by health professionals for the management of thermal cameras at Larnaca and Paphos airports, with a contract duration of three months and with the right of renewal for a period ending on December 22, starting from the date of the signing of the contract or as the Contracting Authority has determined, to submit their bid.

Interested parties can obtain further information and tender submission forms in electronic form either from the website of the Ministry of Health or from the Electronic Public Procurement System of the General Accounting Office and submit their bid according to the instructions of the tender documents.

The deadline for applications is 06/08/2020 at 23:00.

Source: Philenews

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MORE THAN 27,000 PASSENGERS FROM CATEGORIES A-B WERE CHECKED SINCE FLIGHTS RESUMED

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

Cyprus’ Health Ministry announced today that a total of 27,334 passengers were tested for Covid–19 coming from countries listed in categories A and B, since June 9 when flights to the island`s two international airports, Larnaca and Paphos resumed.

Cyprus authorities have classified countries in 3 categories. Passengers from Category A are subject to random checks, while Category B passengers need to show a negative Covid–19 test or could be tested at the airport if they are Cypriot citizens or legally residing here. Category C passengers need a negative test but have to also self–isolate for 14 days.

According to the announcement, Cyprus applies strict rules for passengers coming from B and C categories.

It is added that Austria applied the same rules for a negative Covid–19 test only last week whereas Germany will do so this coming week.

It is noted that since airports reopened, the authorities decided to check 300 passengers a day but this decision was reassessed and later 600 were tested. The number stands currently at 1,000.

The results of the tests and all the data are assessed frequently by the authorities who decide on the epidemiological risk of each country in all categories.

During July 20 – August 2 a total of 11,860 tests were conducted.

More precisely between July 27 – August 2 , 4,057 passengers were tested, all coming from countries in categories A and B in 34 flights.

These 34 flights are as follows:

Athens – Greece 7 flights , category A

Thessaloniki – Greece 3 flights category A

Crete – Greece, 2 flights , category A

Mykonos – Greece 3 flights, category A

Poland 2 flights, category A

Finland 1 flights, category A

Hungary 2 flights, category A

Denmark 1 flight, category A

Switzerland 2 flights category A

Berlin – Germany 1 flight category A

Dusseldorf – Germany, 1 flight, category A

Frankfurt – Germany 1 flight, category A

Munich 2 flights, category A

Austria 2 flights, category A

London – UK, 2 flights, category B

Liverpool – UK 1 flight, category B

The Ministry announced that 3 cases were detected in a flight from Thessaloniki on July 31, one of which is a passenger who came from Germany via Thessaloniki.

Moreover 3 cases were detected from flights from Athens and Mykonos on August 1, and Zurich on August 2.

As of August 1 the checks have increased and now 1,000 are conducted per day. More checks are being carried out on passengers arriving from Greece and the UK.

Each day a total of 10 flights are subject to tests at both airports.

Source: CNA

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IF YOU ARE TRAVELLING TO CYPRUS

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

As part of the Government’s strategy for managing the corona virus pandemic, the safeguarding of Public Health and limiting the entry of Covid-19 incidents through gateways into the country, the Ministry of Health has been implementing a country categorisation system since May that changes according to the assessment of their epidemiological risk.

Depending on what category the country they’re coming from is in, passengers must comply with specific measures, as follows:

For passengers from Category A countries, nor a Covid-19 laboratory diagnostic test certificate or quarantine are required.

Passengers arriving from Category B countries are required to have a laboratory diagnostic test no later than 72 hours before departure and to present a Certificate proving a negative PCR test for the virus.

Cypriot citizens and permanent residents of the Republic arriving from Category B countries, have the option to undergo the molecular test upon arrival at the airport. It is stressed that these individuals must remain in quarantine until the test result is issued.

Finally, for passengers travelling from countries included in Category C, and according to the Decree of the Minister of Health (No. 30), entry to the Republic is allowed only to certain categories of citizens. It is stressed that these individuals must remain strictly in quarantine for 14 days.

For children aged 12 and under, regardless of the Category in which their country of origin falls, a laboratory diagnostic test is not required at Cypriot Airports nor is the presentation of a negative test certificate from their country of origin.

Source: Philenews

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RECENT COVID-19 CASES IN LIMASSOL DO NOT CONSTITUTE A SECOND WAVE, PROFESSSOR KARAYIANNIS SAYS

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

Recent confirmed Covid-19 cases in Limassol do not constitute a second wave of the corona virus, Petros Karayiannis, member of the scientific advisory team on Covid-19 and professor of microbiology and molecular virology at the University of Nicosia’s Medical School told CNA on Tuesday.

“This is not a second wave, it is an outbreak observed in a specific city of Cyprus”, he said, adding that this is an example of what could happen when things go awry.

People, he added, must learn to live with the virus and expressed hope that the detection of new confirmed cases was done on time and in an effective manner so that the chains of transmission and the spreading of the virus in other areas of Cyprus are stopped.

Professor Karayiannis said that there was concern regarding the situation in Limassol in the first days but pointed out that yesterday there were less than ten confirmed cases.

Invited to comment on a statement made by Dr. Leondios Kostrikis, Professor of Molecular Biology at the Department of Biological Sciences of the University of Cyprus and member of the Ministry of Health’s scientific team, that there must be 1,000-1500 active cases in Limassol, he said he disagreed with that estimation.

He said that nine out of ten cases were contacts of known confirmed cases and not random samples, people who had to be self-isolating and despite that they went for testing and this gave a wrong picture of what is happening in the community, “I consider that number to be between 50 and 100,” he added.

He stressed that the clusters of infections will stop when all possible contacts of the positive cases are traced, and remain in isolation.

Replying to another question, he said that the measures taken by the government are satisfactory.

Asked if the decision to move Greece to the list of category B countries was the right one, he pointed out that in the last days there was an increase of confirmed cases from people coming from Greece, while the country`s epidemiological indicators , such as hospital admissions, are worsening and in recent days there were also deaths.

Therefore, he added, the epidemiological team had to decide whether the country should remain in category A or be moved to category B. In the coming days we will know if it was a good decision or not, he concluded.

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LIMASSOLIANS RUSHING TO GET TESTED FOR COVID-19

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

Office call centres of Limassol’s GP’s have caught fire as citizens exhibiting at least one Covid-19 related symptom call them up asking for testing referrals to public health clinics as according to estimates from experts there may currently be over 1,000 undetected active corona virus cases there, something that has understandably alarmed citizens doctors told Philenews.

Based on the numbers, in the 1,738 sample testing that was carried out and completed by Sunday night, more than 20 cases had been detected, which means that one in 86 who have already been tested, tested positive for the virus.

Professor Leontios Kostrikis was clear when speaking to the media, stating that he estimates based on the data for the city of Limassol from Sunday that “statistically there may be 1,000-1,500 carriers of the virus” currently.

He even appealed to the people of Limassol to pay special attention and behave responsibly in order to avoid the further spread of the corona virus in the city in the next 10-15 days.

Just hours after the professor’s statement, the Ministry of Health announced five new cases of the corona virus, which, among other things, revealed at least one other active virus transmission chain in Limassol, which appears to have as a starting point a supermarket in the city where as we are informed four more cases have already been detected.

In the meantime, a military camp in Nicosia has been in quarantine since Saturday, after a corona virus case was detected.

Additionally, measures to reduce the risk of spread of corona virus have been implemented by the Cardiology Clinic of the Paphos General Hospital, due to the risk of an increase in cases, an announcement by the director of the Cardiology Clinic there, Joseph Moutiris, said.

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AUTHORITIES CLEAN UP PEYIA SEA CAVES FROM OIL

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Annie Charalambous

The Fisheries Department on Tuesday released a video showing an oil spill response plan at Peyia sea caves which the protected Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) uses to rest and to breed.

The plan – over a period of one year – took place in two stages to accommodate agreeable weather conditions, according to Marinos Ioannou who heads the Department. The spill was spotted a year ago.

Members of the Navy Service, wearing special uniforms,  had climbed down the caves and removed various materials where oil had settled. Such as sand, rock and pebbles.

“The main goal was to restore to the greatest degree possible the natural environment of the caves…It was an extremely difficult effort which was marked with success,” the Fisheries Department also said.

Monachus monachus is one of the most endangered mammals in the world and the only seal species in the Mediterranean. The total population is estimated at only 700.

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POLICE ARE LOOKING FOR POSSIBLE VIOLATORS OF COVID-19 QUARANTINE RULES

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

The Ministry of Health on Monday sent to police the names of four persons who do not respond to calls by health authorities trying to check whether they observe the island’s quarantine rules, Philenews reports.

The Ministry’s swift action followed an uproar over a woman who recently arrived in Cyprus from the US and instead of getting herself into quarantine she was out and about in coastal Larnaca and Limassol.

She has since been diagnosed with the virus, and fears are rising that she must have infected a lot of the people she came in contact with.

Minister of Justice Emily Giolitis on Monday said police will now be carrying out home searches on people who have arrived from category C countries or were defined as close contacts of confirmed cases.

On this specific case, reports to police have been filed and sent to the Minister who does not rule out taking out appropriate measures if the study of the data indicates so, and if a case is substantiated against the woman. The woman is currently under home surveillance.

In the meantime, over 3,500 checks were conducted by the police over the past three days to make sure corona virus measures are being complied with.

Police Deputy Spokesman Stelios Stylianou told Philenews there were 83 complaints against businesses mainly for non-use of a mask by their staff.

In two cases, the fines reached the amounts of €8,000 and €4,000.

At the same time, 121 citizens were reported for not wearing a mask.

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CYPRUS GETS 100 NEW POLICE OFFICERS AND FIRE FIGHTERS

in-cyprus 4 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar

A total of 100 new police officers and fire fighters were sworn in on Monday in an effort to strengthen the numbers of these two bodies, while 356 more positions remain open.

A long process of hiring new police officers and fire-fighters has ended considering that this started in 2019 and was suspended in March after the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic.

Candidates for the positions which also demand taking exams had demanded an end to the prolonged process.

Initially the open positions were 256 but because fewer candidates passed the interviews only 100 were eventually hired.

Only 114 candidates passed, initially, but only 105 accepted the position and five of them chose to withdraw the last minute when they were informed they would be hired for the Police Department and not for the Fire Department.

Twenty-five of the 100 have already been assigned to the Fire Department, however, at this time and without any training they cannot offer their services were needed.

It is noted that 34 candidates who were cut in one of the two psychometric tests objected to the ruling and the issue was discussed before the Parliament’s Legal Committee, a couple of weeks ago.

Chief of Police Stelios Papatheodorou has said that the procedure cannot be by-passed due to a clear ruling by the Attorney General’s Office.

Philenews has information that some of them have already applied for candidacy for the new positions that were announced, while some have taken legal action to appeal the proceedings.

 

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CORONAVIRUS - AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY NINE UNSAFE MASK BRANDS

Cyprus Mail 4 August 2020 - by Staff Reporter

Authorities on Tuesday released information on a number of brands of facemasks that are considered dangerous, nine in total.

The masks of Chinese origin do not meet current basic health and safety requirements, an announcement said. Photos of the boxes and brands to aid consumers in identifying the products in questions can be viewed at the link.

They are stamped with the EU safety symbol CE but have not been certified as protective equipment. “Their composition, structure and shape are not suitable,” the announcement said.

“As a result, an excessive amount of particles or microorganisms can pass through the mask, increasing the risk of infection. The products do not comply with the regulation on personal protective equipment.”

The labour inspection department is calling on the public to notify them if they spot the nine brands on the market

Tel: 22405604 or 22405663 or 22405603.

More information the products are registered on the RAPEX website.

http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumers_safety/safety_products/rapex/alerts/

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GERMANY ALREADY DEALING WITH SECOND CORONAVIRUS WAVE - DOCTORS' UNION

Cyprus Mail 4 August 2020 - Reuters News Service

Police officers stand next to demonstrators during a protest against the government's restrictions amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Berlin, Germany, August 1, 2020. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Germany is already contending with a second wave of the coronavirus and risks squandering its early success by flouting social distancing rules, the head of the German doctors’ union said in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.

The number of daily confirmed coronavirus cases has ticked up steadily in recent weeks, with health experts warning lax adherence to hygiene and distancing rules among some of the public is spreading the virus across communities.

“We are already in a second, shallow upswing,” Susanne Johna, president of Marburger Bund, which represents doctors in Germany, told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.

She said there was a danger that a longing to return to normality and a suppression of containment measures would fritter away the success Germany had achieved so far, urging people to stick to social distancing and hygiene rules and wear masks.

Europe’s biggest economy has so far withstood the pandemic with far fewer deaths than some large neighbours like France and Italy, owing to widespread testing, a well-equipped healthcare system and good adherence to social distancing.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany increased by 879 to 211,281, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious diseases showed on Tuesday. The reported death toll rose by eight to 9,156, the tally showed.

Johna said hospitals were prepared and would make intensive care beds available to COVID-19 patients on a staggered basis, while at the same time gradually reducing the number of planned admissions to normal wards.

According to the DIVI intensive care register there are almost 21,000 intensive care beds in Germany, of which some 12,200 are currently free. As of Monday, there were 270 COVID-19 patients in intensive care, of whom 130 were being ventilated.

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