Nearly 25,000 people violate curfews, weekend lockdown

Some 25,000 people in Turkey violated weeknight curfews and a full lockdown on the weekend between Jan. 11 and Jan. 18, the country's Interior Ministry has announced.

As part of the government's measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, Turkey has been implementing the curfews and lockdowns since early December 2020.

Weeknight curfews are in effect from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. the next morning, while weekend lockdowns begin at 9 p.m. on Fridays and end at 5 a.m. on Mondays.

The first full weekend lockdown took place from Dec. 4 until Dec. 7, 2020. Turkey also imposed an 80-hour lockdown on New Year's Eve to prevent large gatherings for celebrations.

"The public largely followed the curfew and lockdown rules. However, administrative and procedural actions were taken against a total of 24,755 people for violating the rules," the ministry said in a statement on Jan. 18.

Authorities say the anti-virus measures the country is implementing help reduce the COVID-19 infections.

Earlier this month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey would gradually lift the restrictions once the infection numbers fall under a certain figure.