Government yet to make curfew decision for Eid al-Adha holiday

ANKARA

The government is yet to make a decision on whether a curfew will be imposed during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has said.

“No definite decision as to the Eid holiday has been made. President Erdoğan will look into the assessments from the Health Ministry and the ministry’s Science Board,” Kalın told private broadcaster NTV on July 19.

The course of the outbreak will follow in the next 10 to 12 days, such as the number of new cases, the number of recoveries as well as intubated patients and the death toll from COVID-19 will be taken into account to decide about the curfew, Kalın said.

The five-day Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday will take place between July 31 and Aug. 3 this year. Turkey imposed a four-day nationwide lockdown at the end of May during the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Health experts have warned that if people ignore the fundamental anti-virus rules and necessary precautions are not taken the infections from the coronavirus may spike during the upcoming Eid holiday.

Turkey recorded 924 new COVID-19 cases on July 19, rising slightly from the previous day’s 918, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter. The country carried out more than 41,000 tests on the day.

An average of 1,000 patients in Turkey recover from coronavirus every day and as many new cases are reported, he said.

“Our target: An increase in the number of recoveries, a decrease in the number of new cases,” the minister added.

The number of COVID-19 infections has neared 220,000 in the country, with the death toll from the outbreak reaching around 5,500.

There are some 400 intubated patients and more than 1,200 people receiving treatment in intensive care units. Recoveries from the diseases have reached 202,000. Turkey has conducted some 4.3 million tests to date.