CORONAVIRUS - AUTHORITIES TO DRAW UP GUIDELINES ALLOWING PROTESTS
Cyprus Mail 31 August 2020 - by Jean Christou
Police will not act against hundreds of demonstrators who staged a protest against Covid restrictions outside the presidential palace on Saturday night, it was announced on Monday.
Instead the health ministry will draw up a list of guidelines for protests that will include people needing to stay 1.5 metres from each other, and wear masks during protests.
The decision was taken at a meeting between police and Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis and officials from the health ministry to discuss the protest, attended by hundreds of people on Saturday. The attorney-general had also been consulted.
Yiolitis said the restrictive measures “which we have responsibly endured for months now are not intended to harm democracy nor are they politically motivated or expedient. They are universally applied in almost all countries that have been affected and are hopefully temporary”.
“They have one and only purpose, to save lives and to treat patients,” she added.
Part of the rules will be making protest organisers responsible for ensuring the social distancing and mask wearing.