ISTANBUL — More than half of Turkish citizens over 18 years of age are now fully vaccinated, the nation’s health minister announced Wednesday. New COVID-19 cases remain near a three-month high, with 27,356 new infections reported the same day.
Over the last week, the number of recorded daily cases hovered around 25,000, rates not seen since early May, when a 17-day nationwide lockdown was imposed to stem surging coronavirus infections. A combination of social distancing rules and curfews this spring helped bring daily case rates down to about 5,000 in late June, leading state officials to lift most restrictions and pursue normalization measures on July 1.
