Turkey prepares for its first national lockdown as Covid-19 cases rise

Turkey is bracing itself for its first national coronavirus lockdown as infection rates continue to climb in the country, now the highest in Europe.

The lockdown will begin on Thursday at 7 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET) and will last through the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and over the Eid al Fitr holiday. It is scheduled to end at 5 a.m. local time on May 17, according to a statement from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On Thursday, streets across the country's main cities were packed with people preparing for the weeks ahead, with traffic accidents and queues of traffic reported across the country's main Anatolian Highway.