ISTANBUL, Apr 14 (NNN-XINHUA) – Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced a new two-day curfew, which would be put into effect on Apr 17, to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Speaking in Istanbul, after attending a cabinet meeting via teleconference, Erdogan said, the lock-down would start at midnight on Friday, and would last until midnight on Apr 19.
“We decided to continue to impose these bans, if necessary,” the Turkish leader added.
Turkey’s previous curfew last weekend covered 31 provinces, including Istanbul, the capital, Ankara, and the western province of Izmir.
Erdogan stated that the country recorded significant progress in controlling the pandemic, thanks to the measures.
He also noted that two new hospitals are being established, in the Hadimkoy neighbourhood of Istanbul and Derince district of the Kocaeli provinces, with a total of 350 bed-capacity.
“We will open the first phase of the Basaksehir City Hospital (in Istanbul) on Apr 20, and the second part on May 15,” he said. The hospital will have a 2,862-bed capacity when completed.
Turkey has so far recorded a total of 61,049 confirmed cases and 1,296 deaths, according to the data released by the Health Ministry.
