Turkish labor leaders criticize state COVID-19 response as cases surge
Turkish officials introduced tighter curfew measures to curb a national surge in COVID-19 rates, drawing criticism from labor rights leaders over exemptions for production workers.
ISTANBUL — In response to record high COVID-19 rates in recent weeks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan introduced tighter national curfews among other measures Monday.
Effective Tuesday, the new restrictions ban citizens from leaving their homes between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. on weekdays and full curfews will be enforced on weekends. The measures come after partial curfews imposed last month failed to slow contagion rates, and extend curfew exemptions for workers in the agriculture, forestry, health care, logistics and production sectors.
“We’re trying to find methods that protect the people’s health and also allow the continuation of production, commerce, employment and social life,” Erdogan said Monday, while introducing the measures.
Though health experts have repeatedly called for tighter restrictions to stem COVID-19 rates, Turkish labor rights leaders criticized the new curfews, saying they fail to protect employees in exempted sectors who must continue to work under the threat of contracting the coronavirus.
