Turkey reintroduces measures to curb spread of COVID-19

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a raft of measures to be reintroduced to stem the spread of COVID-19, with several public places to close earlier.

Hairdressers, wedding halls, swimming pools, theaters, cinemas, concert halls, and similar places will close at 10 p.m., Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a news conference in the capital Ankara following a Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex.

The restrictions will also apply to cafes and restaurants, but they will be allowed to offer food for take-away after 10 p.m.

As part of the step, which came amid a rising coronavirus tally in Turkey, flexible working hours will be encouraged in private and public sectors across the country, Erdogan said.

He also stressed that inspections such as supermarkets and marketplaces will be increased, urging people to avoid crowded places and home visits.

The president reiterated his earlier call on the public to strictly follow the anti-virus measures, including wearing face masks, hygiene and social distancing.

“Those measures are our biggest weapons against the virus,” Erdoğan stressed.

Wearing masks is already compulsory in all public areas and outdoors in the country.

The government plans one or more than one of the possible COVID-19 vaccines, being developed in foreign countries, to be made available for vaccination in Turkey by the end of the year, the president also said, adding that Turkey will offer “own vaccines” to the public in spring.

The number of daily patients in the country are at manageable levels, Erdoğan said.

In the northwestern province of Bursa, local authorities imposed restrictions on the movement of peo-ple aged 65 and older.

The elderly people are allowed to venture outside only between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. provided that they wear face masks and adhere to social distancing, the governor’s office said.

Several houses in the Samandağı district of the southern Hatay province and two villages in the north-eastern Kars province have been put under quarantine.

People over 60, pregnant women in public services to work from home in Istanbul

Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya announced new coronavirus measures to be taken in offices in the metropolis on Nov. 4, one day after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared nationwide measures to stem the spread of COVID-19.

“Since Sept. 28, we have implemented gradual shifts in the public services in Istanbul. From now on, we will expand the mentality of distance-working,” Yerlikaya said after a meeting of the regional public health council.

Due to the decisions taken in the meeting, the shift in the industrial sector will start at 7.00 a.m.

In state institutions and organizations, people over 60, women who are pregnant or have children below the age of 10 and employees with chronic diseases will work from home.

The governor said that the decisions would be effective as of Nov. 9.

“Mask is a need like water. Social distancing is a necessity like bread. Cleanliness is our biggest weapon against the virus,” Yerlikaya said, underlining the importance of the coronavirus measures.