ISTANBUL – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Monday that a nationwide lockdown would begin April 29 due to the coronavirus. He urged most nonessential workers to stay home in effort to slow a recent surge in new COVID-19 cases.

The new curfews deepen previous restrictions introduced two weeks earlier and will be effective until May 17. During the curfews, intercity travel will be barred without prior approval, schools will be shuttered, most shops will be closed — apart from grocery stores operating on limited hours — and alcohol sales will be banned.

The decision comes after Turkey’s Health Ministry recorded over 37,000 new coronavirus infections April 26. This was a drop of 1,000 from the day before but still a high number amid an ongoing surge. The nation ranks fourth globally in new daily cases on a per-capita basis. In addition, recorded coronavirus-linked deaths have averaged about 350 per day over the last week in Turkey.

"At a time when Europe is entering a phase of reopening, we need to rapidly cut our [new daily] case numbers to below 5,000 to not be left behind,” Erdogan said. “Otherwise, we will inevitably face heavy costs in every area, from tourism to trade and education.”