Turkey's Erodgan cancels weekend curfew despite spike in cases
Hours after his government announced a weekend curfew for 15 major cities, a public backlash forced Turkey's president to call off the movement restrictions.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reversed course Friday and did not reimpose the country’s weekend lockdowns as expected amid a spike in novel coronavirus cases.
Turkey has lifted restrictions on intercity travel and allowed a number of businesses such as restaurants and cafes as well as parks and sports facilities to reopen. This week, Turkey reopened two border crossings with Iraq and Iran.
The easing comes as the Health Ministry reported a spike in infections that many officials had feared was coming. Compared to the previous daily average of 700, the number of cases jumped Thursday to nearly 1,000. In total, Turkey has reported more than 167,000 cases and at least 4,630 deaths since March.
Turkey, which began weekend lockdowns April 11, was set to continue them amid the surge in new cases. But hours after the Turkish Interior Ministry announced a weekend curfew for 15 cities, Erdogan called it off, citing “social and economic consequences.”
