Turkish public said to follow weekend curfew on day 1

ANKARA

The Turkish public have largely obeyed a weekend curfew in 31 of Turkey’s 81 provinces on its first day Saturday, said the Interior Ministry.

“Almost all of the 63.64 million citizens in 31 provinces have abided by the curfew decision by staying home,” the ministry said in a written statement. Turkey has a population of some 82 million.

It added that 2,756 people who violated the rule since it went into effect as of Friday midnight were subject to administrative and procedural penalties.

“Critical needs such as bread are being met by social support groups, local administrations, mukhtars [neighborhood leaders], and bakery proprietors,” it said.

On Friday at midnight, Turkey imposed a 48-hour curfew in 31 provinces as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The country also confirmed 98 more deaths from the virus, bringing the death toll to 1,006 and the total number of cases to 47,029.

* Writing by Sena Guler