By Seda Sevencan
ANKARA (AA) - Students in grades 2, 3, 4, 8, and 12 will also start taking in-person lessons, the Turkish president said on Monday.
“We are starting face-to-face education in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, and 12th grades in accordance with determined rules” to stem the spread of coronavirus, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters after a Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.
Starting next week Turkey will give free tablet computers to half a million students, Erdogan added.
“Nearly 847,000 people were supported with around 4 billion Turkish liras [$515.2 million] as unemployment compensation” amid the pandemic, he also said.
The amount of grants paid to employees and low-income groups reached 38 billion Turkish liras (nearly $4.8 billion), the president stressed.
The country on Monday reported 1,603 more patients with the novel coronavirus and 1,320 recoveries over the past 24 hours, the Turkish Health Ministry said.
The overall patient count now stands at 326,046, with recoveries totaling 286,370, according to ministry data.
The death toll from COVID-19 reached 8,498, with 57 more fatalities.