Turkey lifts 4-day coronavirus curfew in 31 provinces

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Turkey lifted a four-day curfew as of midnight on April 26 which had been imposed in 31 provinces to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The government enforced its third weekend stay-at-home order, which included the national April 23 holiday and its following day.

"Our citizens in 31 provinces obeyed the curfew by and large staying at their homes,” said the Interior Ministry in a statement.

"Judicial or administrative proceedings were applied to 35,422 people who did break the curfew between 0 a.m. (1000GMT) [on April 22] till [April 26] 8 p.m. (0600GMT),” it added.

It was also stated that quarantine was lifted in 177 settlements in 44 cities on April 26.

The ministry underlined that regulations to curb the spread of the virus, such as compulsory wearing of masks and keeping social distance in markets, square and streets, will be strictly monitored over the next week.

The country's first curfew was implemented on April 11-12.

The curfew was imposed in the capital Ankara as well as in Adana, Antalya, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Muğla, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Tekirdağ, Trabzon, Van and Zonguldak provinces.

Before the first curfew, 35 percent of the coronavirus cases in Turkey were among people 65 years old or older, while the percentage has since dropped to 18 percent, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on April 24.

Quarantine lifted in 177 sites

In the meantime, Turkey on April 26 lifted quarantine in 177 areas across 44 provinces as new coronavirus cases slowed down in the country.

"Quarantine measures have been annulled in 177 sites across 44 provinces," said the Interior Ministry in a statement.

Some 162 sites are still quarantined.