COVID-19: Turkey imposes partial weekend curfew

By Faruk Zorlu and Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will impose partial weekend curfews to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

The curfew will be effective on weekends, but movement will be allowed between 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time so as not to disrupt supply and production chains, Erdogan told a news conference in the capital Ankara following the Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex.

A partial curfew which was already in effect for people over the age of 65 has also been expanded to include those under 20, with the exception of those who have to go out for work. They can step outside their homes from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the week.

Cinemas will remain closed until the end of the year.

Malls, markets, restaurants, and hairdressers will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. throughout the week, with restaurants only providing delivery service.

Education will continue online until the end of the year, he said, adding all sports competitions will continue to be played without an audience.

As of Tuesday, Turkey registered a total of 11,704 deaths due to the coronavirus, while 359,063 people have recovered from the disease. Currently, there are 421,413 confirmed cases in the country.

The virus has claimed nearly 1.33 million lives in 191 countries and regions since last December, according to the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

Over 55.29 million people have been infected with the virus, and more than 35.6 million recovered from the disease to date.