Full details of revised Covid-19 restrictions/measures

On Friday, the TRNC Council of Ministers announced the easing of restrictions/ measures and extending the night time curfew to March, 15.

The following revised decisions have been adopted in line with recommendations of the Higher Committee for Infectious Diseases.

From Monday, March, 8 to Monday, March, 15:

-A night-time curfew between 9pm and 5am will be in place between Monday, March, 8 to Monday, March, 15, 2021.

-A partial curfew, except to meet essential services will be in place between 9 pm (Friday, March, 12) and 5am (Monday, March, 15, 2021).

-All businesses and activities apart from supermarkets, bakeries, butchers, greengrocers, petrol stations, pharmacies, restaurant delivery/takeaway services, agriculture, livestock and related industrial enterprises, will be closed on Saturday, March, 13, 2021.

-All businesses and activities, except for pharmacies, petrol stations and bakeries (production only) will be closed on Sunday, March, 14.

From Monday – Friday: 

-Markets will be open between 8am and 8pm. (Including Saturdays).

-Retail and merchandising services (except supermarkets and workplaces supplying all sectors) will be open between 10am and 8pm.

-Activities involving resupplying open businesses, including taking orders and arranging shelves will be allowed. Orders, sales and distribution will be carried out between 8am and 8pm. Shelf stackers will be allowed to work after 8pm

Establishments that will remain closed:
– Theatres and cinemas, performance centres, concert halls, engagement-wedding halls, birthdays, religious prayer services, casinos, bars, taverns, coffeehouses, cafeterias, hookah cafes and halls, internet cafes, all kinds of game halls, indoor playgrounds, swimming pools, massage parlours, spas, indoor sports halls, open buffet restaurants, night clubs, clubs, Turkish baths and saunas.

Establishments that will remain open:
All businesses and activities that are not stated implicitly may be open under the conditions stated below.

There will be no trying on of clothing at stores.

Open businesses will make arrangements that will limit the total number of customers and employees. The arrangement must be made so that the total number of customers and employees will be one person per 5m2.

To maintain social distancing, these enterprises will be required to put up informative signs at entrances regarding the total number of customers and employees which can be allowed at any given time.  Also, businesses that provide services will work on a rotational basis or with reduced personnel. Personnel in open sectors will repeat PCR tests every fifteen days. Open sectors will be inspected by District Police Boards. Sectors or businesses which flout rules will be shut down.

Businesses will have to sign consent forms and will be subject to legal prosecution if they fail to comply with the guidelines set.

Individuals are required to meet their essential or basic needs from businesses closest to their residence.

Institutions that will remain open:
Essential services including health professionals and staff working at the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, police, fire brigade, municipality, civil defence, district security boards, Customs, the Central Prison, BRTK, TAK, TÜK, KIBTEK, Dairy Products Board, press employees and / yellow press cardholders, as well as essential services staff at universities, will be able to work at full capacity.

The personnel deemed essential to work in public offices, departments and institutions affiliated with the ministries listed above will continue their duties as determined by their superiors.

In order not to interrupt all services at airports and seaports, these institutions will operate with minimum personnel.

1. Since the prevalence of infection is less in Lefke-Güzelyurt-İskele-Gazimağusa districts and to prevent the spread of infection to these districts, it has been deemed appropriate that the passage from Lefkoşa and Girne districts to the above-mentioned districts are controlled by the District Police Boards. There is no ban on travel between Lefkoşa and Girne Districts.

2. All institutions and workplaces are required to record temperatures at the entrances, to comply with the social distancing rules, use markings to maintain social distancing and to apply hygiene and disinfection conditions both inside the workplace and at entrances and exits. It is the employer’s responsibility to implement these measures.

3. There will be no face-to-face or in-class education (including private lessons and course activities) at public and private schools, all pre-school, primary and secondary education until March 15, 2021. Schools will continue with online or remote education. However, to accommodate the needs of those working in open sectors, day-care centres will be allowed to operate.

4. It has been deemed appropriate for people residing in the TRNC but receiving medical treatment in South Cyprus, to cross for daily visits without quarantine as long as they document their appointments at the crossing points. The patient and their attendant (if necessary) will be required to submit a negative PCR test result carried out within the last 72 hours. Also, patients and companions returning to the TRNC following treatment should repeat their PCR tests on the seventh and fourteenth days of their return and submit the results to the Health Ministry.

5. It has been deemed appropriate for people residing in South Cyprus but receiving treatment in the TRNC, to cross for daily visits without quarantine as long as they present proof of their appointments and a valid PCR test carried out within the last 72 hours.

6. Within the scope of the Green Line Regulation, it has been deemed appropriate for people who do contactless trade to carry out their transactions without quarantine, provided that they obtain permission from the district security boards.

7. It has been deemed appropriate for ambulances to pass through the Yeşilırmak crossing point without the need for quarantine. All other individuals are subject to quarantine.

8. People residing and working in Pile will be exempt from quarantine or will be allowed to cross daily provided that they submit their negative PCR test results carried out in the last seven days. Employees of sectors that supply basic commodities and services to businesses in Pile will be allowed to cross for daily visits provided they present a valid PCR test carried out in the last 24 hours.

9. Individuals working for the UN, EU, the Sovereign Base Areas (SBA) or UN peacekeepers are exempt from quarantine provided that they submit a negative PCR test result carried out within the last seven days.

10. Funerals will be held with the participation of first-degree relatives only.

11. Persons residing in the TRNC and working in South Cyprus or vice versa will be able to cross daily without quarantine, provided that they submit a valid PCR test carried out within the last 3 days.

12. Barbershops, hairdressers, beauty salons and tattoo studios will continue to operate between 8 am and 7 pm. Employees in these sectors will be required to renew their PCR tests every seven days and will sign consent forms. Businesses that breach health protocols will be shut down.

13. In light of the country’s quarantine capacity, daily flights to the TRNC have been limited to three per day. Each flight cannot exceed 200 passengers. Ferry services to the TRNC have been limited to two per day with a maximum number of 75 passengers each.

14. It has been deemed appropriate for people residing in Beyarmudu to cross daily without quarantine to carry out livestock and agricultural activities in the UN buffer zone and base area.

15. In addition to takeaway and delivery services, restaurants with outdoor seating areas will be able to serve sit-in customers as of 10.03.2021 on the condition that all restaurant employees undergo PCR tests until that date. Restaurants will sign consent forms and all establishments which break health protocols will be shut. (Distance between tables in outdoor spaces must be 2m apart and chairs 60cm apart from each other).

16. Special needs education centres will be allowed to resume education as of 08.03.2021. Staff will be required to undergo PCR testing every seven days.

17. All non-contact, individual outdoor sports will be allowed.

18. Taxi drivers transporting passengers flying abroad via South Cyprus will be given hourly permission to cross on the condition they carry out a PCR test in the last 72 hours. However, permits will only be given to drivers transporting passengers to Larnaca Airport. Taxis with “T” permits will be allowed to transport one passenger. Taxis with commercial “T” permits will be allowed to transport two passengers. Taxi drivers will be required to fill in consent forms before crossing. Taxi drivers flouting health rules will not be allowed to cross again.

19. Individuals with permanent/temporary residency permits will be subject to mandatory quarantine for 10 or 14 days depending on which country they arrive from.