Turkiye removes face mask requirement indoors

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Turkiye on Tuesday removed the requirement of wearing face masks in all closed areas, which has been a part of COVID-19 measures in the country.

The face mask rule will still be in force in public transportation vehicles and medical institutions until the daily number of virus-related cases drops below 1,000, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said following a meeting of the Coronavirus Science Board in the capital Ankara.

Turkiye has handled the pandemic much better than most countries around the world, Erdogan said, stressing that the country has not only tried to treat its own people, but also distributed medical aid to some 160 countries and 12 international corporations.

The most important lesson that the country has learned from the deadly virus has been to become “self-sufficient by establishing a strong health infrastructure,” he noted.

To counter the spread of the virus, Turkiye has administered over 147.44 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since it launched an immunization drive in January 2021.

The country has registered over 14.77 million coronavirus cases so far with a death toll of 97,666.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 6.22 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions.