TRNC won the battle against coronavirus, everything to return to normalcy soon - Prime Minister, Ersin Tatar

Turkish Cypriot people have won an important battle against the deadly coronavirus which has gripped much of the world in the past few months, said TRNC, Prime Minister Ersin Tatar.

Tatar made the comment in parliament on Tuesday and according to him the success was owed to the swift and timely measures taken by the government as well as the unity and solidarity shown by the public.

The world should not and cannot ignore this success, he said, adding that the World Health Organisation (WHO) should take note of the figures in the TRNC.

Tatar said that the next step will be to gradually speed up the process towards normalization with new arrangements to be made to the economy.

I have full confidence in the experts and the Turkish Cypriot people, he said, adding that the important thing was to get various sectors running again.

He explained that all the sectors had already started planning for the coming months.

We shall overcome any difficulties we experience with the support of Turkey, Tatar added.

He pointed out that steps had started to be taken on the tourism sector.

There are 12 months in a year. We don’t need to limit or squeeze tourism in a few months. We will only keep closed for a few months, Tatar added.

He however, said it was too early to say when and how tourists could be arriving in the country.

Perhaps we could request tourists to present a PCR test certificate along with their passports, he said.

Tatar spoke on the need to adhere to the rules of social distancing.

We need to avoid contact, practice and maintain social distancing. We also need to avoid complacency, continue to wear masks in public and adhere to hygiene and health measures. Everything will eventually return to normal once the wheels of the economy start turning, he stressed.