President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan revealed a series of measures for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, saying that the country would be switching to partial lockdown in the first two weeks of Ramadan to decrease the coronavirus caseload.
According to the new and stricter measures, a weekday curfew will be imposed between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. from Monday to Friday, while public sector work hours have been shortened to 4 p.m. The new hours will apply starting Wednesday.
Meanwhile, intercity travels have been suspended, except in cases of emergency. Citizens over the age of 65 and below the age of 18 won’t be allowed to use public transportation.
Public offices will close at 4 p.m. Female employees, who are pregnant, and those with children younger than 10 years of age, and employees with chronic illnesses will be placed on administrative leave. The private sector is encouraged to adopt the same measures.
In education, all grades except eight, 12 and kindergarten will switch to remote education and will continue with online classes for the foreseeable future, starting Thursday.
Cafes and restaurants have also been hit with the new measures as dining at these facilities has been banned, while take-aways and ordering to home are still allowed. This restriction will be in effect until after the Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr. Hotels will be allowed to serve customers only.
Congregational iftar dinners, to mark the breaking of the daily fast, are canceled and there will be no similar events at accommodation centers or residences.
Erdoğan noted that tougher restrictions would be inevitable if targeted results were not achieved.
