Coronavirus: Government says no question of curfew – yet

There has been wild speculation that stricter measures on people’s movement could come into force, but the government announced on Thursday no such decision has yet been taken.

The possibility of such measures being enforced in the future were not ruled out however.

“The government categorically denies that it intends to impose a ban on the movement of citizens or to fully suspend operations of businesses,” government spokesman Kyriacos Kousios said on Thursday.

“Under the current situation it is not in any way necessary to take such drastic measures,” he said.

The spokesman said that it was a matter for the experts to decide and politicians will follow their advice.

If developments dictate it, imposing a curfew will not be ruled out, he said.

Despite officials denying the closure of food stores and other businesses – in some cases – people have rushed to stock up on goods.

“There is no intention of closing the supermarkets,” Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou said on Twitter, though he expressed concerns over the great number of people gathered there.

“Mass gatherings do not help at all in reducing the spread of the virus,” he said.

In Europe, many countries have resorted to draconian measures which up until only a few weeks ago were unimaginable.

Italy, France and Spain have enforced strict regulations on people’s movement.

France has deployed 100,000 police and officials on the streets to enforce the ban on public gatherings and people leaving their house without adequate justification.

In Italy and France, people must fill out forms explaining why they have a good reason to leave their house. As of Wednesday night, 4,000 people had been fined.

Italians caught violating the ban face the threat of a 206 euro fine or even three months in prison.