Turkey tightens COVID-19 restrictions as Ramadan holy month begins - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Diego Cupolo

Diego Cupolo

Apr 14, 2021

A man wearing a protective face mask and gloves and working behind a plastic shield waits to serve customers on a busy market street on April 09, 2021, in Istanbul, Turkey. The country announced more than 55,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a new daily record since the start of the pandemic. Fears are growing that coronavirus cases will continue to rise as the country prepares to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan starting on April 13. — A man wearing a protective face mask and gloves and working behind a plastic shield waits to serve customers on a busy market street on April 09, 2021, in Istanbul, Turkey. The country announced more than 55,000 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a new daily record since the start of the pandemic. Fears are growing that coronavirus cases will continue to rise as the country prepares to celebrate the holy month of Ramadan starting on April 13. — Chris McGrath/Getty Images

ISTANBUL — Turkish officials introduced strict social distancing measures Wednesday to curb a record spike in COVID-19 infections after the nation’s Health Ministry logged nearly 60,000 new cases Tuesday.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday evening, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the tighter restrictions would be effective for the first two weeks of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, and the measures could be extended if current trends continue.

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