Full COVID-19 lockdown adds to financial strain in Turkey

Turkey’s president has instructed people to stay home for nearly three weeks and shut down many businesses as part of the country’s strictest COVID-19 measures yet

ISTANBUL -- As cases and deaths soar, Turkey’s president has instructed people to stay home for nearly three weeks and shut down many businesses as part of the country's strictest COVID-19 measures yet. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not announce a stimulus package to offset the economic impact of the new restrictions. With Turkey's double digit inflation, sinking national currency and businesses in trouble, many Turks already have been struggling financially. Gozde Aslan, a newspaper seller in Istanbul, said the lockdown would be difficult to weather. “We have to bring food to our homes, and we live in a period where everything is very expensive,” she said. “May God help us.”