Turkey to impose weekend lockdown in 15 provinces

Duvar English

Turkey will impose a two-day weekend lockdown in 15 provinces as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Interior Ministry said early on June 5.

The Interior Ministry released a circular regarding the weekend curfew saying that grocery shops, butchers, fruit sellers and dried nuts sellers will be allowed to operate until 11 p.m. on June 5 before the curfew goes into effect.

The ministry also said that grocery shops will be open between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on June 6 and citizens will be allowed to go to the market closest to their place of residence.

The decision comes after the government on June 1 allowed restaurants, cafes and parks to re-open and lifted inter-city travel curbs.

Ankara has been gradually easing the restrictions for the past few weeks, as authorities say the outbreak is now under control.

A recent study however revealed that starting to lift Covid-19 measures in June, when Turkey in fact did start the normalization process, would create higher risk of a second wave of infections.

Conducted by members of research-focused NGO Science Academy and Özyeğin University, the research titled “The normalization process of the COVID-19 pandemic and fluctuations” hypothesizes on two scenarios of lifting preventative measures.

The first normalization scenario looks into the results of lifting bans at the start of June, July or August.

“The simulations show that all three cases would result in a second wave of infections, but that June is particularly premature to start normalization,” the research noted, adding that additional infections would be easier to manage in July or August.