Indoor mask mandate to be lifted fully in 10 days: Expert

ISTANBUL

Turkey will lift the indoor face mask mandate fully within 10 days, an expert from the Health Ministry’s Science Board has said.

“Daily infections decrease day by day, and this is a great achievement [against the coronavirus],” Nurettin Yiyit told İhlas News Agency.

The requirement to wear protective face masks indoors in the country was scrapped on April 26, with the exception of hospitals and public transportation.

“The mandate was said to be lifted when the number of daily cases decreased below 1,000. I think in a week or 10 days, it will be completely lifted,” Yiyit noted.

He also highlighted that there is no new risk of a new coronavirus variant or a new threat from the virus in Turkey.

The latest data from April 29 shows the number of cases falling to 1,924, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Twitter.

Nine people lost their lives, while 8,302 recoveries were recorded.