Turkey imposes 4-day curfew in 15 provinces amid virus

Turkey has imposed a four-day curfew in 15 provinces beginning Friday midnight in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus that has claimed 4,055 lives in the country.

Although the country usually declares curfew at the weekends, the period was extended to four days as May 19 is celebrated as an official holiday in the country.

The curfew got effective in the capital Ankara as well as Balikesir, Bursa, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Istanbul, Izmir, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Manisa, Sakarya, Samsun, Van and Zonguldak.

According to Interior Ministry, markets, grocery stores, greengrocers and butchers will be closed on May 16 and 17. However, they will continue to operate from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time (0700-1300GMT) on May 18-19.

Also, bakeries will remain opened during the four-day curfew.

The first curfew was declared on April 11-12 and it was followed by other ones in the past weeks.

As of Friday, the country reported a total of 146,457 coronavirus cases, including 106,133 recoveries.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. Europe and the US are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 306,000 worldwide, with over 4.5 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.61 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.