FREE COVID-19 TESTING TO END

COVID-19 screening assessments carried out by the Well being Ministry should be paid for, no matter whether or not individuals are vaccinated or not, as of Wednesday, September 1, Prime Minister Ersan Saner has confirmed.

Taken from this week’s difficulty

COVID-19 screening assessments carried out by the Well being Ministry should be paid for, no matter whether or not individuals are vaccinated or not, as of  Wednesday, September 1, Prime Minister Ersan Saner has confirmed.

Solely PCR and antigen assessments for college students in main and secondary colleges and residents receiving social help will probably be freed from cost, Mr Saner mentioned throughout a press briefing on Thursday night held following a backlash from the general public.

The choice to cost vaccinated folks for assessments, which first emerged within the Official Gazette on Thursday, sparked uproar after Mr Saner had beforehand mentioned that, in a bid to encourage extra folks to get jabbed, solely those that haven’t been inoculated can be made to pay, with a cost of 100TL for a PCR take a look at and 40TL for an antigen take a look at.

In accordance with the newest Well being Ministry figures, practically 2.4 million Covid-19 assessments have been carried out within the TRNC, with virtually 16,000 constructive instances detected thus far and 52 deaths as of August 26.

Yesterday livid Well being Minister Ünal Üstel vowed to reverse the choice. On the time Cyprus Right this moment went to press there had been no U-turn within the charging coverage.

Mr Üstel accused the Finance Minister Dursun Oğuz of proposing the fees-for-all transfer throughout a Council of Ministers assembly that he was absent from as a result of he was overseas.

In its response to the choice, the primary opposition Republican Turkish Get together (CTP) mentioned in a written assertion that well being companies are being dragged into “critical chaos” due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Detection and early isolation of constructive instances is important within the struggle towards the pandemic, which might solely be attainable with widespread testing,” the CTP mentioned.

“The selections taken by the minority authorities . . . will result in individuals who don’t have the means to keep away from testing and the pandemic to spiral uncontrolled even additional. 

“Throughout lately when the financial disaster has deepened, the choice to do paid testing will additional weaken our energy to struggle the pandemic.”

The assertion added: “Simply saying ‘get vaccinated’ isn’t sufficient. The organising of ‘vaccination campaigns’ the place folks can search recommendation and get vaccinated has been severely uncared for.

“Furthermore, our individuals are having nice issue to find out the place and once they can get which vaccine.”

Individuals’s Get together (HP) MP Jale Refik Rogers mentioned that forcing folks to pay for PCR and antigen assessments poses a “menace” to public well being.

“In the event you have a look at the Council of Ministers’ choice, the reason being public finance however the difficulty they ignore is that in the event that they insist on mismanaging this pandemic below the pretext of the financial system, this mismanagement will improve the danger of shutdown and they’re going to trigger us all to lose as a rustic by way of each well being and the financial system,” she mentioned.

Fellow HP MP Ayşegül Baybars accused the federal government of “short-sightedness”.

The Cyprus Turkish Chamber of Business (KTSO) known as for the choice to be “urgently reviewed”.

Emphasising that “neither households nor companies” can financially deal with paid testing, the KTSO mentioned: “This can be seen like a plus by way of the state funds, however it’s apparent that the chaos it’s going to create will result in better prices.”