Coronavirus: TC doctors call on GC counterparts for more cooperation

The head of Turkish Cypriot doctors association said they were still waiting for a response from their Greek Cypriot counterparts to their call for cooperation in jointly tackling the coronavirus.

In an interview with daily Kathimerini, the head of the Turkish Cypriot doctors, Ozlem Gurkut, said they had extended a call to the head of the medical association (CyMA) in the government-controlled areas for cooperation.

“We would like to remind them that we are waiting for their response,” Gurkut, told the daily.

She said it was important for doctors on both sides to cooperate and establish a good dialogue. Gurkut said the when the first wave of the pandemic was under control on both sides on the island, they needed to be ready for the second wave in order to minimise losses.

The fact that Cyprus was an island was an advantage in tackling this type of pandemic, she said.

When it comes to monitoring contacts, the use of hospital services or the supply of advanced laboratory services, cooperation and the common use of existing facilities would help improve health care, she said, according to the paper.

Gurkut also said that the expansion of the action scope of the Bicommunal Technical Committee on Health and the continuation of its work after the return to normalcy would greatly facilitate the overall effort.

In total 108 cases have been recorded in the north to-date, 31 of which concern local residents, plus four deaths.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.