President Erdoğan cancels weekend lockdown

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan said on June 5 he decided to cancel a weekend lockdown announced late on June 4 but he warned of a rise in the number of daily coronavirus cases.

On June 4, Turkey's interior ministry announced the stay-at-home order in 15 cities to prevent the spread of the
virus, continuing the country's policy of weekend lockdowns.

The curfew was planned to be in effect in Ankara as well as Istanbul, İzmir, Balıkesir, Bursa, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Sakarya, Samsun, Van and Zonguldak. 

In a series of tweets, Erdoğan said on June 5 the government had to impose the weekend lockdown after daily new COVID-19 cases rose from around 700 to nearly 1,000.

"However, the reactions we received from our people pushed us to re-evaluate the decision" and the lockdown is now revoked, he said, urging citizens to follow social distancing and hygiene measures.

 

 

 

 

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