Turley started a new week with high hopes, at least for those in provinces with a low number of coronavirus cases. Further details were set to be announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after a Cabinet meeting later on Monday, but a second “normalization” is expected to start in a few days.
“Normalization” refers to the reopening of businesses closed due to a surge in the outbreak last year, particularly restaurants and cafes, and the lifting of curfews that confined millions in their homes across Turkey. Some basic rules, like mandatory masks and social distancing, will remain in force. However, an end to restrictions will certainly allow for a sigh of relief for people banned from going out after 9 p.m. every day and confined to their homes during the 56-hour lockdown on weekends.
The first “normalization” in June 2020 was relatively successful until the onset of autumn when people started spending more time indoors and returned to big cities from holiday resorts. A rapid rise in the number of cases forced authorities to reintroduce most restrictions.
Like other countries, Turkey faces the dilemma of letting people go out freely and risking a new wave of infections or pushing for extended restrictions and face a growing number of people violating them. Both scenarios will affect the outbreak trends, so the government has sought a third, safer option. This option, announced as “Decision On The Ground” by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, involves a gradual lifting of restrictions and hands the authority to remove them to local administrations. Public health boards in each province are now tasked with removing or imposing restrictions based on rising and declining case numbers. A color-coded system introduced by the ministry earlier this month will be used as a guide and serves as a warning for citizens ignoring the restrictions.
