Turkey tightens COVID restrictions after surge in infections

Turkey, which relaxed measures a month ago, has recently been reporting an average of 30,000 new infections each day.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced stricter restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus in the face of a rise in infections a month after measures were relaxed. Out of the country’s 81 provinces, 58 are now in the “red” or “very high-risk” zone, including the cultural and economic hub of Istanbul and the national capital, Ankara. Some 80 percent of Turkey’s 84 million people live in these areas, Erdoğan said after a cabinet meeting on Monday.