Turkish Health Ministry approves more COVID-safe venues

ANKARA

The Healthy Tourism Certification program launched by Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry as part of novel coronavirus precautions has been expanded to cover culture and art facilities after being implemented for hotels, restaurants and tour and transfer vehicles.

The new venues include performance and exhibition halls, museums and movie theaters.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy announced plans to expand the scope of the certification during a meeting of parliament’s Planning and Budget Commission.

Noting that certification will be provided free of charge, Ersoy said the ministry aims to generalize the program for culture- and art-related businesses.

Safe Tourism Certification determines the means and basic measures intended to decrease the anxiety of infection with COVID-19, meet high hygiene and safety expectations and prevent infection and the spreading of the virus.

Culture and art facilities will be able to obtain the certificate if they meet the 133 criteria, ranging from the guest’s arrival at the facility to emergency situation planning and isolation.

Accordingly, the facilities will prepare a plan considering the participant capacity according to social distancing necessities. More participants than indicated in the social distancing plan will not be allowed into the facility and a safe waiting space will be provided.

Further precautions will be implemented for hygiene, including mask and disinfectant usage, disinfection of all sorts of devices, hygiene of restrooms as well as leaflets and brochures.

All personnel will be well-informed about the intervention plan, which will be applied when a participant shows any symptoms of infection.

*Writing by Dilan Pamuk in Ankara