Measures eased, flights resume after 2 months
Under-18s still must be with parents when out
TURKEY will relax stay-athome measures for people over 65 years old and those under 18, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday.
Around 7.5 million over65s will now be able to go out every day from 10am to 8pm, Erdoğan said, relaxing a measure that had almost entirely forbidden them from going outside since March 21.
A similar prohibition imposed on under-18s on April 4 was also lifted, with the condition that young people still have to be with their parents when they are out, Erdoğan said.
Turkey has eased most of the restrictions brought in to stem the virus — from reopening restaurants to allowing mass prayers at mosques — but the president warned citizens must still wear masks outside and keep social distancing.
Erdoğan said cinemas and theatres would reopen from July 1. The president also said that the Turkish government will provide incentives to boost employment and support the industry to maintain exportand production-oriented growth to revive an economy hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
International flights restarted from Turkish airports on Thursday.
Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said last week that flights would restart on June 10 to destinations such as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Greece, Bahrain, Bulgaria and Qatar, but the official said the airline had not yet received approval.
Karaismailoğlu said the country was planning to gradually resume flights with 40 countries as of June 10 and has reached preliminary agreements for reciprocal flights to begin with 15 countries. He said Turkey was in talks with 92 countries on resuming flights, as containment measures over the coronavirus were eased.
On Monday Top Turkish and Russian diplomats discussed the issue of tourism Turkish diplomatic sources reported.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov also discussed regional issues, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media, but gave no further details. Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin also signed a decree relaxing border restrictions on Monday.