Parliament Speaker accused of breaking Covid rules

PARLIAMENT Speaker Zorlu Töre (pictured) has raised eyebrows after ending his self-isolation period just two days after having tested positive for Covid-19.

Mr Töre tested positive for the disease on Friday, April 1, but announced on Sunday that he had taken a PCR test which had a negative result, and was thus ending his self-isolation period, before appearing in Parliament on Monday.

The Cyprus Turkish Medical Association (KTTB) said that they were “astonished” to see Mr Töre in Parliament just three days after having tested positive.

“The Speaker of Parliament, who has tested positive for Covid-19, continues to act against the Communicable Diseases High Committee’s required 10-day quarantine period, standing in front of MPs and ministers in front of Parliament without a mask,” the KTTB said in a statement.

The statement went on to say that “the rules that every member of this society are expected to abide by are still valid in Parliament”, and called on the Health Ministry to “immediately prevent this noncompliance with the rules, together with [implementing] the necessary criminal sanctions”.

Following the criticism, Mr Töre said that he had further antigen tests on Monday and Tuesday, both of which were negative.

“I continue to fulfil my duty as the Speaker of Parliament, in Parliament,” he added.

The Health Ministry’s rules at the time Mr Töre tested positive stipulate that people who test positive for Covid-19 are expected to self-isolate for a period of at least seven days, provided that they test negative for the disease on their seventh day of self isolation. Failing that, they are required to self-isolate for 10 days.