INSTRUCTIONS FOR CITIZENS

MOVEMENTS

1. What are the curfew hours?

Movement is prohibited from 9 in the evening until 5 in the morning of the following day.

2. Under which circumstances is one allowed to move during curfew hours (9 in the evening to 5 in the morning of the next day)?

The movement of persons during curfew hours is permitted for the following reasons:

• For purposes of moving to and from workplaces, with the presentation of Form A, completed and signed by the employer, which certifies the necessity for the movement during the aforementioned hours.
• For urgent purposes, such as to go to a medical centre or a hospital or a pharmacy or a veterinarian for medical emergencies and to render assistance to people who are unable to care for themselves or who need to self -isolate.

3. How many times per day will movement by exception be permitted?

Movement by exception will be permitted once a day by sending a text message to 8998 for the reasons cited in question 5. Persons over the age of 65 may use Form B for their movement by exception.

It is clarified that for purposes of moving to and from the workplace for work purposes, no text message is required, but the employee must present Form A, signed by his/her employer.

By exception, and only for Easter Sunday (May 2), movement is allowed twice by sending a

text message to 8998 for the reasons cited in question 5 and for the reasonable amount of time of 3 hours.

4. How many categories for movement by exception are there via a text message?

There are eight (8) categories for movement by exception via a text message. Category 8 includes sub-categories, as outlined in question 5 below.

5. In which cases is movement by exception allowed by sending a text message?

Movement by exception by sending a text message is allowed in the following cases:

• Category 1: Visit to a doctor / medical center or for a laboratory test for COVID-19 (rapid test or PCR) or going to a pharmacy.
• Category 2: Purchase or supply of essential goods / services to and from businesses / services, the operation of which has not been suspended, including take-away and drive-through of food and drink businesses, excluding the purchase / supply of spirits (until 8:30 pm). It is noted that the purchase/supply of alcoholic beverages from catering establishments is not permitted, either for take-away or drive-through.
• Category 3: Going to a bank for transactions which cannot be carried out online.
• Category 4: Absolutely necessary visits to government services, services of the wider public sector and the Local Government, when the task cannot be carried out electronically. This category also includes movement to/from the Green Spots operated by various Municipalities/Communities, which are adjacent to the citizens’ permanent residences.
• Category 5: Assistance to relatives and / or fellow citizens who are unable to care for themselves or fall within groups that have to self-protect or self- isolate and /or in places of mandatory confinement. Only on Easter Sunday, 2 May, movement is permitted in order to go to a residence provided that, persons present at the residence are coming only from two families and provided that the total number of persons in the residence does not exceed 10, including children.
• Category 6: Physical exercise, provided it does not exceed two adults excluding minor children and is restricted to areas where access is permitted. People are also allowed to go to another District, other than the one where they permanently reside (primary residence), for personal exercise purposes at the sea, provided that they do not exceed two people, except for minor children accompanied by their parents. Movement is permitted for a reasonable time and the persons must return to their permanent residence on the same day, no later than 9 pm. Residents permanently living in Districts with access to the sea, are not allowed to go to another District for physical exercise purposes.
• Category 7: Going to a place of religious worship for individual prayer or for ceremonies, such as funerals, weddings, baptisms (maximum number of people in ceremonies 10 people). Only for Holy Saturday (1 May) movement is permitted in order to go to a place of religious worship for purposes of participating in the evening Easter Liturgy.
• Category 8: (upon presentation of the necessary evidence valid for each case):
  • Movement of divorced or separated parents, which is necessary for communication and contact between parents and children. Individuals must provide a Court Order as proof that they have a responsibility to care for their children on the specific days / hours of movement.
  • Specialized treatments for people with disabilities or people with chronic diseases, together with their carer.
  • Transfer to and from Larnaka and Pafos Airports for the transfer of persons on presentation of proof (ticket) which shows the day and time of arrival / departure.
  • Transfer of farmers and stockbreeders, provided that they submit the form of hectare and capital subsidy from CAPO or, in case this does not apply, a relevant certificate from the District Agricultural Office.
  • Transfer of persons to animal shelters for the care of animals, provided that they present a certificate validated by a recognized animal welfare organization, as well as a relevant proof that the Veterinary Services have been notified on each movement.
  • Movement for visiting a cemetery.
  • Transfer to another privately owned property (e.g. holiday home, etc.) in the District of permanent residence and / or in another District outside that of permanent residence, only for the period from April 29 to May 3.

All persons moving for any of the above reasons must bring with them an identity card or passport, for identification purposes in the event of checks by the Competent Authorities.

6. In what cases is movement by exception permitted without sending a text message?

Movement without sending a text message is permitted:

• for the movement of people with disabilities and persons falling within the spectrum of autism, together with their carers.
• for walking a domestic animal or for physical exercise, provided that the movement is limited to the area adjacent to the residence (within a radius of 500 m from the residence) and provided that no more than two persons are present, except for minor children accompanied by their parents.
• for the transportation of minor children to and from special education schools.
• for the transportation of soldiers to and from military camp, on presentation of proof.
• for employees who continue working with a physical presence at businesses/sectors that have not suspended operations, and who wish, en route to work, to visit premises that remain in operation for the purchase of necessity goods or visit the Green Spots that operate in Municipalities/Communities for the disposal of items.
• for employees who continue working with a physical presence and who wish to undergo a rapid test at a testing site, en route to work or upon their departure from work or during their working hours.
• for purposes of going to a Vaccination Centre for a scheduled vaccination against COVID-19, upon presentation of the confirmation message or a relevant form or a vaccination certificate, for purposes of confirming the transfer at that specific time.
• Transfer to a Blood Donation Centre.
• Transfer to places of worship, only during the Holy Week (26 April – 2 May), only during Devine Liturgy hours.

7. Is movement between Districts permitted?

Yes, movement between Districts is permitted provided that the purpose for which the movement takes place falls within the points of use of a text message, which normally does not exceed three (3) hours, with specific reasonable exceptions, such as movement for purposes of hunting and fishing, for transfer of soldiers and for transfer to and from airports, for a funeral, for caring for the elderly and persons who are unable to care for themselves in a different

District than the one of their permanent residence, or for farming and stockbreeding purposes.

8. How many people are allowed in a private vehicle and how many passengers can there be on public transport vehicles?

Private vehicles may carry persons of the same family (household), including minor children of the family, depending on the capacity of the vehicle, without the use of a mask. In the case of persons from different households, up to three (3) persons, including the driver, may ride together, with mandatory use of a mask. For movement for work purposes, in a private vehicle with a capacity of more than five (5) persons (e.g., workers on construction sites, transporters, etc.), up to four (4) persons may ride together, with mandatory use of a mask. For work purposes and if the private vehicle has a capacity of less than five (5) persons, up to three (3) persons may ride together, with mandatory use of a mask.

The maximum number of people in public transport (buses, taxis, etc.) is determined by an announcement by the Ministry of Transport.

 

How to obtain authorisation for movement by exception:

1. People under 65: SMS to 8998/IVR operator;
2. People over 65 may use Form B for their movements by exception.

 

SMS to 8998, free of charge Structure of message: 

X (number corresponding to the reason of movement) space Identity Card or Passport No space Home Postcode Where:

• Χ: stands for the number from 1 to 9 corresponding to the reason of movement.
• Identity Card or Passport No (up to 3 letters and up to 10 characters, numbers and letters in total) for: 
  • Cypriot citizens: the number of their Cypriot identity card;
  • European citizens and third-country nationals: their ALIEN REGISTRATION

NUMBER (ARC) of their registration certificate or residence permit; o European citizens and third-country nationals who do not hold an ARC: the number of another identification document (foreign passport or identity card number, diplomatic passport number).

• Home Postcode: 4 numbers

 

There will be 4 kind of replies to the SMS: approval, rejection due to the structure of the message, rejection for exceeding the maximum number of movements allowed and rejection for noncompliance with the curfew hours.

It is noted that after sending the SMS a reply shall be received and the movement shall be valid for a reasonable period of time, not longer than three (3) hours, unless the person sending the message can prove the necessity of an extension.  

Citizens must carry their identity card or passport for identification purposes in case of control by the competent authorities. 

OPERATOR

For those connected with a foreign mobile telephony provider, as well as to facilitate those who are not able – for any reason whatsoever – to send a SMS to 8988:

 

• for Cypriot phone numbers: 80012012
• for foreign numbers: +357 22 285777

 

The above service shall be available to the citizens from 05:00 a.m. to 21:00 p.m., both in Greek and English language.  It is noted that the citizens shall be personally responsible for the correctness of the details stated to the operator and shall be held liable for false statement.

 

Please note that the operator shall only serve mobile phone calls. 

 

The website www.pio.gov.cy/coronavirus provides comprehensive information on how to obtain authorisation for movement by exception.