Turkey lifts weekend coronavirus curfew in 24 provinces

Turkey lifted a 48-hour curfew as of midnight on May 10 which had been imposed in 24 provinces as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The government enforced its fifth weekend-long stay-at-home order, which included the Mother's Day holiday.

The curfew was in effect in the capital Ankara as well as Adana, Balıkesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Eskişehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, İzmir, Kahramanmaraş, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Mardin, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Tekirdağ, Trabzon, Van and Zonguldak.

The country's first curfew was declared on April 11-12 and was followed by others in the past weeks.

However, Turkish senior citizens aged 65 and above, who have been restricted to their homes since March 21 as part of the country's fight against the pandemic, were given one-time permission to step out on Sunday.

Hundreds of thousands of elderly citizens across Turkey, remaining within walking distance and wearing masks, took a breath of fresh air between 11 a.m. (0800 GMT) and 3 p.m. (1200 GMT).

Children under 14 years old will be allowed out on May 13 during the same hours, while 15-20- year-olds will be able to leave their homes on May 15, also within walking distance and wearing masks.

Turkey introduced stay-home orders for those over the age of 65 on March 21, while those under 20 years old have been restricted since April 3 to stem the spread of COVID-19.