The Turkish Interior Ministry sent new instructions to governorates of 81 provinces on Friday about COVID-19 measures, after Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced Turkey was scrapping several restrictions related to the pandemic earlier this week. Under the new instructions, passengers will not be required to undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for domestic flights, regardless of their vaccination status.
Earlier, PCR tests were required for the unvaccinated or those without at least two doses of vaccines and those not infected with coronavirus 180 days prior to the flight.
For international flights, quarantine will not be required for people with negative PCR tests within 72 hours before the flight or antigen tests within the last 48 hours. Passengers will also be exempt from quarantine measures if they are fully vaccinated with at least two doses of vaccines and those who recovered from COVID-19 within the past six months.
No tests or health reports will be asked from passengers traveling to Turkey by land, sea and railways. Children below the age of 12 will be exempt from PCR/antigen test and the vaccination rule on international flights. Similarly, flight crews will be exempt from PCR tests and quarantine rules.
The ministry’s instructions are the formal implementation of the "new normal" announced by Koca. They say masks are not required outdoors and in enclosed venues with proper ventilation and the ability to maintain social distancing. Masks are still required at schools, hospitals, cinemas and similar venues, as well as in mass transit and inter-city travel, from airplanes and buses to train and ferries.
The requirement of a HES (Hayat Eve Sığar – Life Fits Into Home) code was also lifted for entry to several venues, including shopping malls, cinemas, etc. as well as in mass transit, intercity buses, trains, domestic flights. HES, a QR code any citizen has to acquire through a smartphone app, is used to identify people who tested positive for COVID-19.
Though most people appear to be adjusting to the new regulations, people especially in big cities continue wearing masks outdoors, some out of habit, others fearing that the infections are still prevalent. Turkey managed to reduce the number of daily cases which broke all-time records last month and the latest figures from Thursday show there were only 49,424 cases and 188 fatalities. Authorities warn that the pandemic still continues and is deadly especially for those with chronic illnesses and senior citizens, although hospitalizations are lower compared to last year.
Professor Serap Şimşek Yavuz, a member of the Health Ministry’s Coronavirus Scientific Advisory Board which was behind the recommendations to lift mask-wearing and HES rule earlier this week, suggests that people should keep wearing masks outdoors if they cannot maintain social distancing.
Yavuz told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Friday that although the pandemic is still prevalent, they based their new recommendations on the current figures regarding the pandemic, from positive test rates to hospitalizations. She said most countries sought to relax restrictions to ease the public exhaustion over months of restrictions. She noted that masks are still a must indoors, especially in crowded places.
"You have to wear masks at schools, buses and similar places because you cannot keep distance from others in such places and there is no possibility of proper ventilation," she said. She also added that people should continue to wear masks in outdoor places like stadiums, which, although outdoor venues, are still crowded during matches.