Turkish Cyprus declares curfew

The Turkish Cypriot government has taken additional measures to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus on the island.

As part of those actions, the government has declared a curfew between 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting March 31.

The curfew will be effective until April 5.

"This is not a partial but full curfew. Despite our repeated calls, people still go out particularly in the evening. We have to act together to succeed. And I believe we will," said Turkish Cypriot Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay.

"Home visits will not be possible anymore," he added.

Özersay also noted that due to the curfew supermarkets will close at 8 p.m.

The deputy prime minister called on the municipalities to inspect whether the supermarkets were taking necessary hygiene measures and fine ones that dodge hygiene rules.

The curfew decision was announced following a cabinet meeting which was called to discuss the pandemic-related developments.

Turkish Cyprus has reported nearly 70 cases. A German tourist died of the virus.

More than 47,000 people left and nearly 16,000 people entered North Cyprus March 10 when the first coronavirus case was confirmed, Özersay said.

He also noted there would be charter flights from Istanbul on April 1 and Ankara on April 4 to North Cyprus.

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