ISTANBUL — Turkish families normally come together for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan, but this year most stayed apart, observing a four-day nationwide curfew imposed to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The curfew ended midnight Wednesday and may be the last of its kind as state officials ease restrictions in the country, which has seen new infection numbers decline in recent weeks. Now mosques, restaurants and stores are preparing to reopen in the coming days, but Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said Wednesday some preventive measures will remain in place.

“Returning to the days before the first case of coronavirus occurred in the world?” Koca asked in a tweet. “This does not seem possible yet. We must be vigilant.”

In a separate tweet, Koca added that curfews on senior citizens and people under 20 years of age would continue until further notice. The mixed measures come as Turkey ranks ninth worldwide in confirmed COVID-19 cases and 14th in virus-linked deaths, according to John Hopkins University data. To date, Turkish health officials have recorded 159,797 cases in the country and 4,431 deaths.