Turkey further eased measures meant to curb coronavirus infections on Monday including partially lifting a weekend lockdown and opening restaurants to a limited number of guests.
President Tayyip Erdogan said the lighter measures, in response to falling cases, would go into effect Tuesday. Under the new rules, nationwide daily curfews are delayed by an hour to 10 pm.
Erdogan lifted virtually all social restrictions in March but backtracked in April when daily cases soared above 60,000, making Turkey briefly second globally. A partial lockdown was imposed from the end of April to May 17.
Turkey, with a population of 84 million, recorded 6,493 new coronavirus cases on Monday.
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IMAGE: Employees get ready for closing at a bar, on the final day of open restaurants and bars before tighter coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions are enforced, in Istanbul, Turkey April 12, 2021.
