Turkey ramps up COVID-19 precautions as Erdoğan postpones foreign visits

Turkey will close its primary, secondary and high schools for two weeks, with remote education to begin in the second week as part of precautions against the novel coronavirus.

The announcement came after a five-hour meeting at the presidential complex amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

Following the meeting, Presidential Spokesman İbrahim Kalın declared various precautionary measures for the coming weeks.
Turkey to shut schools

He announced primary, middle and high schools would be closed for a week beginning March 16.     

The one-week break will be brought forward, he said, referring to the break originally scheduled for April.     

"Then, as of March 23, our students will continue their education through the Internet and television with the remote education system," Kalın said, adding that the National Education Ministry carried out comprehensive work on the issue.     
Education Minister Ziya Selçuk also reiterated the closures would begin on March 16, with remote education to begin as of March 23.

"With the remote education system presented free of charge by the National Education Ministry as well as the Health Ministry's protective and precautionary measures against the epidemic disease, Turkey is ready to become a model country with a television and internet-based curriculum prepared for the first time in the world on a national scale," Selçuk told reporters.

Selçuk noted that the system was also used earlier this year after a major earthquake struck Elazığ province to enable students to catch up with their lessons, adding the same system with a new interface will bring lessons to households.

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake jolted the province on Jan. 24, killing 41 people and...