By Erdogan Cagatay Zontur
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey lifted a four-day curfew imposed in 15 provinces Friday midnight to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus which claimed 4,199 lives in the country.
Turkey has been imposing weekend curfews since April 11-12, however, the period was extended to four days this weekend to cover the May 19, an official holiday marking the Commemoration of Ataturk, Youth and Sports Day.
The curfew got effective in the capital Ankara as well as Balikesir, Bursa, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Sakarya, Samsun, Van, and Zonguldak.
As of Tuesday, the country reported a total of 151,615 coronavirus cases, including 112,895 recoveries.
After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.
The pandemic has killed over 321,500 worldwide, with over 4.87 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.67 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.