President Nicos Anastasiades said on Thursday that hopes have been rising in recent days in the battle against Covid-19 but the end was not yet near, as 20 news cases were confirmed and experts said the situation appeared to be stabilising.
In a televised Easter message, the president said: “Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go.”
He said that at Wednesday’s cabinet meeting, taking into account the advice of scientific advisers, the government had decided on the strategy for a gradual easing of restrictive measures.
“I want to be precise and clear,” he added. “What we have decided is the strategy and not the date of implementation of the decision.”
The president will meet the team advising the government on the coronavirus on April 22 to discuss the possibility of easing certain restrictions. He will then meet with leaders of political parties the next day on the same topic.
Government spokesman Kyriacos Kousios stressed the meeting would not automatically mean a relaxation of the measures, but only the start of a discussion.
Anastasiades said in his address the implementation would depend “and is completely interwoven with” the course of reducing the number of cases, the continuation of strict observance of the restrictive measures, and the solidarity that the overwhelming majority of people were showing.
“There is no room for mistakes, no complacency is allowed,” he added.
Anastasiades said he sympathised with the impact on the daily lives of people as a result of the lockdown, but also cautioned that this was no time to relax the measures.
He stressed he was grateful for the sacrifices everyone is making, particularly during this religious time period.
“It is for these feelings of gratitude for all of you, that I would like to say a big ‘thank you’ because it is due to the professionalism, the sacrifices, your patience and patriotism that I am certain we shall once again overcome.”
The president urged the public to stay focused on the task ahead of containing the spread of the coronavirus, despite the understandable urge to go to church.
“This is why I am once again appealing to all: strictly adhere to the protection measures, avoid non-essential movements, and don’t succumb to the temptation to visit your villages or country houses.”
Drawing an analogy between Christ’s tribulations and the difficulties people are currently facing, he struck a note of hope: “Never forget that the Resurrection always follows Golgotha.”
Keeping people safe and alive is the top priority, he added.
“Pay no heed to those dissenters who conflate faith in God with choosing death. Instead, listen to the wise voice of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Prelate of the Church of Cyprus: today, it is not faith that is at risk, but the faithful.”
Anastasiades went on to call “heroes” all those working on the frontlines in the effort against the pandemic: healthcare professionals, police officers, firemen, soldiers, Civil Defence, game wardens, volunteers and those working in critical services both in the public and private sectors.