Covid-19: Turkey tightens restrictions amid new surge in cases

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced new restrictions on Monday, November 30 following a new surge in cases in the country.

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Turkey, facing an outbreak of Covid-19 cases, will tighten restrictions in place for ten days.

While the country has officially recorded more than 13,700 deaths since the start of the epidemic, Turkish President Erdogan has announced the introduction of a total curfew during the weekend and partial during the week.

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With our correspondent in Istanbul,

From Tuesday, December 1, Turks will only be able to leave their homes for 16 hours a day, five days a week.

This is in summary what President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decided in the face of the acceleration of the epidemic of the new coronavirus.

The whole country will be subject to a nighttime curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. on weekdays, and a total ban on going out on weekends - as was already the case in the spring. 

These new measures mainly concern Turks aged 20 to 65, since the youngest and the oldest had no longer been allowed to go out for more than three hours a day for ten days.

The Head of State has also announced the ban on home gatherings for all occasions, including New Year's celebrations.

Grocery stores and other food businesses are excluded from these curfews and will be able to continue their home deliveries.

The Turkish authorities therefore recognize the ineffectiveness of the 

, which was essentially limited to a night-time curfew on weekends and the closure of cafes and restaurants.

The country beats a daily record of cases detected and deaths due to the virus, with more than 31,000 cases and 188 deaths announced on Monday, November 30.

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