ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced several new restrictions and a “partial closure” for the first two weeks of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to curb surging coronavirus infections.
Turkey ranks fourth globally in new COVID-19 cases, which hit nearly 56,000 on Saturday – a five-fold jump from early March when Erdogan loosened social curbs. On Monday the health minister warned of a “third peak” in the pandemic.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said the duration of a weekday curfew had been extended, announced limitations on intercity travel and public transport, and banned all events in closed spaces until after Ramadan. He also said some grades would go back to online schooling.
The new measures will go into effect on Wednesday night and the steps would be re-evaluated in two weeks.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ece Toksabay and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
