Turkey set to start countrywide fine for those not wearing face masks

ANKARA

People who fail to wear protective face masks will be fined 900 Turkish Liras (around $130) across Turkey starting June 22, in line with a directive the country’s Interior Ministry sent to the governors’ offices in all provinces.

Presently, 48 of Turkey’s 81 provinces have made it mandatory for their residents to wear face masks when they are outside of their homes, while in 33 provinces people are required to have their masks on in public places such as shopping centers, supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, barbershops and hair salons.

In the directive dated June 18, the ministry asked local authorities across the country to warn people without masks until June 22 and then start to fine the violators. Law enforcement officers during their four-day inspections informed and warned the public about face masks. The violators in any province are now to be fined 900 liras for not wearing masks.

The number of daily COVID-19 cases continued to decline, with Istanbul and Ankara recording the lowest confirmed cases for the past week, said Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on June 21.

Data showed that the recoveries surpassed the new cases for a third day in a row as of June 21.

Turkey has successfully got through this process with the number of intensive care unit beds, which neared the total capacity of that in the whole of Europe, and nearly 1,100,000 health personnel, he added.