Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after a cabinet meeting on Tuesday announced a new set of measures to curb a surge in COVID-19 cases.
“Malls, supermarkets, restaurants and hairdressers will operate between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.,” Erdoğan said, adding that movie theaters will stay closed until the end of the year.
All sports matches will continue to take place without spectators, Erdoğan said.
Restaurants and cafes will only deliver and offer takeaway according to the new measures.
A curfew will be in force outside the hours 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekends, the new measures stipulate.
Universities will continue with online lectures, while a curfew in place for senior citizens 65 and older will also include people 20 and younger.
The Turkish government does not reveal the total number of daily coronavirus infections in the country.
Every day the Health Ministry announces in a chart the number of “patients” who are being treated in hospitals for COVID-19, while people who have been infected with the virus but not hospitalized are excluded from the numbers.
A member of the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has estimated the daily COVID-19 cases, based on a chart from the Health Ministry, to be 87,263 for Nov.16.
Ever since Turkey reported its first coronavirus case on March 11, the Turkish government has been criticized for lacking transparency in its handling of the pandemic.