17-day lockdown starts in Turkey

ANKARA

A 17-day lockdown began in Turkey on Thursday evening to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a full lockdown starting from Thursday 7 p.m. until 5 a.m. on May 17.

As part of the new measures, cafes and restaurants will only offer delivery services, while chain supermarkets will be closed on Sundays.

All intercity travel will be subject to permission, whereas public transport will operate at 50% capacity, he added. Accommodation reservations do not provide an exception.

The lockdown will cover the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, as well as three days of the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Turkey has so far confirmed more than 4.78 million cases, over 4.25 million recoveries, and 39,737 fatalities.

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed over 3.15 million lives in 192 countries and regions.

Over 149.75 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries of nearly 87 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.