Turkey to start easing strict coronavirus lockdown tomorrow

The normalization stage began on May 17 and will continue until June 1, the country's Interior Ministry said on May 16.

Turkey imposed the full lockdown, which began on April 29, after the number of daily COVID-19 cases climbed to above 60,000 and the deaths from the outbreak also reached record highs.

In the wake of the lockdown, the number of daily infections declined sharply, easing to below 20,000 on May 8. The Health Ministry reported that the number of cases hovered around at 11,000 since May 13.

Curbs during normalization

During the gradual normalization period, there will be weekday curfews from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., while weekend curfews will last from 9 p.m. on Fridays until 5 a.m. on Mondays.

Inter-city travel will be allowed outside of curfew hours, the ministry said in a directive, which was sent to the offices of the governors in all of the country's 81 provinces.

People will be able to travel by bus, plane or train between provinces during the curfews, but special permissions will be required for inter-city travel on private vehicles during the curfews.

There will be no special restrictions on people aged 65 and over who have already had two doses of COVID-19 vaccines or those under 18, according to the ministry.

Restaurants and cafes will be only allowed to provide takeaway and delivery services between weekdays from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. On weekends, they will offer delivery service only from 7 a.m. to midnight.

Other venues and businesses, including bars, swimming pools, wedding halls, gyms, movie theaters, will remain shut until June.

However, shopping malls will only receive customers on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m., but they...