By Fiona Mullen and Hubert Faustmann)
(Suggestion by Prof Hubert Faustmann)
The divided island of Cyprus reported its first case of COVID–19 to local media on 9 March. By 2 April, the number of cases in the southern (Greek Cypriot) part of the island, which is controlled by the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Cyprus and has a population of around 880,000, had reached 320 and the number of deaths from the virus had reached 9. The first case in the internationally unrecognized “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”), an area in which the EU’s acquis communautaire is suspended, which has a population of around 400,000, was reported on 12 March. By 2 April it had reported 77 cases, with 2 fatalities.
Because the “TRNC” is not recognized, the latter figures are not reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). So far, the infrastructure on both sides has been sufficient to deal with the cases but they are ill prepared for a significant increase of severe cases should the measures taken fail to contain the spread of the virus.
For the purposes of this report, the southern part of the island will be referred to as the Greek Cypriot community (GCc), while the northern part of the island will be referred to as the Turkish Cypriot community (TCc).
The use of terms does not imply recognition of the “TRNC” or its administrative bodies.
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