Cyprus enters three-week coronavirus lockdown

Nicosia, Jan 11 : Cyprus entered a three-week lockdown in its latest bid to curb the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the lockdown, people are required to stay at home, and shopping malls, department stores, retail shops and restaurants should remain closed from Sunday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The streets of the capital Nicosia and other cities, which normally throb with life, were deserted at midday on Sunday, and highways were empty of cars.
Policemen were deployed on the streets to check people’s written or SMS passes, with which they are permitted to go out for a short time twice a day for buying essentials like food, or for physical exercise.
This is the second time similar measures have come into force, the previous one being from mid-March to the third week of May last year.
The first wave of the coronavirus pandemic was beaten effectively in the country. However, a second and more aggressive one started after airports were opened to international flights in early July.