4 yıl önce

In photos: Turks catch the sun during first lockdown-free weekend

Turkish citizens were allowed to go out on the weekend in fifteen cities, for the first time in months. They took advantage of the summer sun and enjoyed their newfound freedom amidst the pandemic.

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People gather at Ortakoy Square during the first weekend without the novel coronavirus pandemic restrictions since 10th April, in Istanbul, Turkey on June 07, 2020.

On early Friday, June 5, 2020, Turkey cancelled the weekend restriction set in place for 15 cities due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Most people across Turkey were allowed to go out over the weekend for the first time since April 10.

Many people used the opportunity to go to parks and beaches now that summer has arrived. They mostly stuck to the rules, wearing masks and keeping their distance from each other, but not everyone was as vigilant as they should have been.

Health minister Fahrettin Koca tweeted on June 6 that 80 percent of all coronavirus cases in Turkey have recovered, and those who were discharged from hospital approached 2,000. Later figures from June 7 showed 914 new cases and 23 deaths, suggesting that Turkey was on its way to controlling the pandemic.

Despite the positive outlook, Koca still warns the Turkish public regularly about not letting go of coronavirus precautions such as maintaining social distance, wearing masks, washing hands and continuing to be careful during the ‘new normal’ to avoid a second wave of Covid-19 infections.