Constantinos Ioannou, the Minister of Health for Cyprus stated that the country is close to reaching its target of containing the novel coronavirus, but it is not yet there.
At the time of writing, Cyprus has reported 795 covid-19 infections and 13 deaths.
"Day by day we are reaching our goal of containing the (coronavirus) cases. However, we have not yet reached the end," Ioannou tweeted.
The low per capita death rate can be attributed to the government closely following the advise of medical experts and the strict lockdown imposed early on.
Nicos Anastasiades on Wednesday stated that Cyprus' infection curve is flattening, less than seven weeks after its first confirmed case, and his government is drafting plans to gradually lift restrictions.
"The scientific team advised us minute-by-minute, playing a crucial role in the government's decisions," Anastasiades told the Associated Press in a written statement. "In other words, we listened to our experts from the very first moment."
Anastasiades said the public overwhelmingly obeyed directives from the government and its medical advisors. Cyprus took measures early to prevent the spread of coronavirus, shutting its borders to all except Cypriots, European workers and those with special permits, then extended the shutdown to all air links. These were followed by a stay-at-home order that only allowed once-daily outings for limited reasons, including essential shopping and visiting doctors, and a night-time curfew.
Virologist and University of Cyprus professor Leontios Kostrikis, noted that it'll take another 10 days or so before Cyprus sees no new infections and restrictions can begin to be lifted. But he warned that the lockdown can only be eased gradually, with the opening of large malls and the resumption of regular flights to and from the tourism-reliant country still weeks away.
