Turkey in partial Ramadan lockdown as cases soar
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a partial lockdown for the first two weeks of Ramadan as the number of Covid-19 infections hit a record.
In a televised address after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Mr Erdogan said the government was reimposing bans on intercity travel and barring people over 65 and under 18 from using public transport.
Authorities also changed public sector working hours, closed sports and leisure centres and expanded night curfews.
Schools will return to online education, apart from classes preparing for high school and university entrance exams.
Weddings, engagement parties and other gatherings will be barred until after Eid Al Fitr, Mr Erdogan said.
He said crowded iftars would not be allowed.
On Tuesday, the health ministry reported 59,187 new infections in a single day, the highest since the start of Turkey’s outbreak.
It also reported 273 deaths. Turkey now ranks among the worst-hit countries.
Single-day infections have increased more than fivefold since March, while the number of deaths and seriously ill Covid-19 patients has also been steadily increasing.
Turkey has reported more than 34,000 Covid-19 deaths but, like many countries, experts say official figures underestimate the toll.
“The increasing number of cases and deaths, especially in the larger cities, is steering us towards tightening measures again,” Mr Erdogan said. “Even though the situation isn’t affecting our health system, we could not remain a spectator to this state of events.”
Turkish health professionals have been saying the surge in cases is putting a strain on hospitals.
Mr Erdogan said the restrictions would take effect yesterday evening and there would be more measures should the new restrictions fail to bring down infections.
“If we don’t achieve the improvement at the rate we target during the two-week period, much harsher measures will become inevitable,” he said.