Turkey-wide weekend curfew becomes effective

ANKARA

A Turkey-wide weekend curfew became effective on Friday as part of measures to stem a new coronavirus wave.

The weekend-long curfew in the country began on Friday at 9 p.m. and will end on Monday at 5 a.m.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday announced new restrictions, including a curfew on weeknights and a full weekend curfew.

Some sectors, including production, supply, health, and agriculture, will be exempt from the curfews, Erdogan said.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, butchers, and dried fruit shops will operate between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. over the weekend.

Bakeries will also be open during the weekend curfew.

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

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

On Friday, Turkey reported 32,736 new COVID-19 infections, including 6,903 symptomatic patients, and saw 193 more deaths over the past 24 hours.

*Writing by Handan Kazanci