Turkey will impose a four-day curfew from Dec. 31, 9 p.m., to Jan. 4, 5 a.m., during the new year break as part of measures against the coronavirus, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a press conference at the Presidential Complex in Ankara following a cabinet meeting.
“Thanks to our measures so far, we can observe a serious decline in the number of COVID-19 patients and deaths, compared to other countries,” he added, underlining Turkey’s efforts in the face of the pandemic.
Turkey has imposed full weekend lockdowns over the past two weekends, though people are permitted to go to nearby supermarkets and bakeries during the day. Those violating the curfew are subject to fines.
Erdoğan touched upon the coronavirus’ negative effects on the economy and emphasized the precautions Turkish government is taking to battle them.
“Our first and foremost focus is to be among the top countries in the post-pandemic era,” he said.
“We are taking steps to ensure economic growth, investment and employment opportunities.”
As of Monday, Turkey registered a total of 16,646 deaths due to the coronavirus, while over 1.63 million people have recovered from the disease. Currently, there are over 1.86 million confirmed cases in the country.
