Turkey imposes new COVID-19 restrictions as cases hit new records

Turkey has imposed new coronavirus restrictions and lockdowns around the country after the daily COVID-19 cases hit a new record.
Thursday, 15 April 2021 10:55

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced late Tuesday that new restrictions and partial lockdowns will be implemented for the highly increasing coronavirus cases across the country. 

The new restrictions came after the dramatic rise in the number of the daily coronavirus cases around Turkey. The number of cases reached up to 62,797 on Wednesday while 279 people died on the same day. Turkey has hit a new COVID-19 case record in recent days.  

According to the new restrictions, the weekday curfew will start at 19:00 and end at 5 a.m.; during the lockdown hours, intercity travels will also be banned except for necessary and urgent situations.

Erdoğan also announced that the countrywide weekend lockdowns will continue until May 17. The weekend curfew starts on Friday evening (7 p.m.) and lasts until Monday (5 a.m.). 

Only foreign tourists will be exempt from the lockdowns while Turkish citizens are only allowed to shop from markets and stores within walking distance from their homes during the weekend curfew hours.  

Except pre-school education institutions and eighth and twelfth grades, all schools will be closed to in-person education under the new restrictions. Online courses will be implemented across the country.