Turkey: Istanbul sees 40% drop in COVID-19 cases

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - The number of coronavirus cases in Istanbul dropped 40% last week, the city’s governor said on Monday.

Ali Yerlikaya said on Twitter that there is a continuous drop in the positive COVID-19 cases in Istanbul and the districts which saw the fastest drops were Arnavutkoy, Beyoglu and Avcilar.

Turkey has been implementing curfew on weeknights and full weekend curfews since Dec. 5 as part of measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The curfew begins on Friday at 9 p.m. and ends on Monday at 5 a.m. local time.

In mid-November, Turkey introduced new COVID-19 restrictions, including a partial weekend curfew.

Some sectors including production, supply, health and agriculture are be exempt from the curfews.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, butchers and dried fruit shops operate between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekends.

Bakeries are also open during weekend curfews.

Meanwhile, restaurants only offer delivery services between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The announcement came after a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Turkey.