Press Releases

Concerning the movement of representatives of the media, the Press and Information Office wishes to clarify the following:

1. Media representatives or employees are not exempt from the provisions of the Decree of the Minister of Health dated 23.3.2020, under the title “Quarantine Law (Determination Measures for Obstruction of Spreading the Coronavirus COVID-19) Decree (No 9) of 2020”, which entered into force on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 at 6pm with effect until April 13, 2020.

2. Therefore, for each employee, mass media employers must complete Form A (Confirmation for Employee’s Movement), which should indicate:

a) The employee’s Social Security number,

b1) In case of shift work, it should indicate the specific working days and hours. Form A may be valid for up to three (3) days.

b2) In case of fixed-term work, the place of employment must be indicated. Form A may be valid for up to seven (7) days.

c) In the case of journalists performing external tasks (e.g. reporters, photographers, etc.), Form A may have a validity of three (3) days and must include the extent to which they can move (e.g., island wide, Nicosia, etc.).

The same form may be completed by the self-employed.

3. In any case of movement while on duty, media representatives should have with them, apart from their passport or identity card, a valid press card.

Given the special circumstances, the Press and Information Office considers the press cards it has issued and which expired after October 1, 2019, to be updated and valid, until the expiry of the decree or the expiration of new similar decrees.

4. As regards their personal movement, as defined by the decree, media representatives should have their identity card or passport with them and complete Form B (Statement of Citizen’s Movement in Exceptional Cases) or send an SMS to 8998, free of charge.

Our goal is to facilitate the work of the mass media. Therefore, if any problems arise in the implementation of the above measures, please contact the Press and Information Office at communications@pio.moi.gov.cy.