Social Issues

Officials have taken action against a total of 35,544 people that violated weeknight curfews and weekend lockdowns in Turkey between Jan. 4 and Jan. 11, the country's Interior Ministry has said.

Curfews are in effect across 81 provinces from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m. while the lockdown lasts from 9 p.m. on Fridays to 5 a.m. on Mondays.

Cyprus is returning to lockdown for the remainder of the month, including daytime restrictions on movement and a shuttering of schools, after the government conceded Friday that a nightly curfew and other existing measures weren't enough to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

The municipality of Aliartos-Thespies in the region of Viotia will enter a stricter lockdown as of Wednesday, due to an increased number of coronavirus infections, Greek authorities said on Tuesday.

Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias said the measures will apply until January 15.

Deputy Minister for Civil Protection Nikos Hardalias announced Monday additional restrictions for the small town of Sperchiada in the region of Fthiotida, central Greece, after health authorities detected an increased number of coronavirus cases.

The measures will apply for 10 days, from January 5 to 6 a.m. on January 14.

Turkey is under a nationwide curfew spanning the traditional New Year's holiday that has started on Dec. 31 until early Jan. 4 as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The curfew has begun on Thursday at 9 p.m. and end at 5 a.m. local time on Monday.

More than 10,000 police officers will be deployed throughout the country for New Year's Eve in order to ensure compliance with the measures for preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The restrictions will be similar to those imposed for the Christmas holiday but police checks will be more intensive.

Turkey’s adventurism abroad is driven by opportunity and impunity

Greek Police (ELAS) is considering whether to close main metro stations such as Syntagma to prevent the gathering of people on the main square to celebrate Christmas, state-run news agency ANA-MPA reported Thursday.

Records are being broken in the United States as well, and the pandemic has contributed to the highest mortality in American history. In Germany, despite strict measures, a record number of dead.
Israel today reported four cases of a new strain of coronavirus that appeared in Great Britain, Reuters reports.

The number of coronavirus cases in Istanbul dropped 40% last week, the city's governor said on Dec. 21. 

Ali Yerlikaya said on Twitter that there is a continuous drop in the positive COVID-19 cases in Istanbul and the districts which saw the fastest drops were Arnavutköy, Beyoğlu and Avcılar.