Erdogan LOCKS DOWN Turkey for Eid holidays over fears Muslim celebrations might flip into Covid-19 catastrophe

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has introduced a strict four-day nationwide lockdown in the course of the upcoming Eid al-Fitr celebrations. The transfer is available in an effort to stop a attainable spike in coronavirus instances.

The choice was introduced by Turkey’s chief on Monday. The lockdown will come into impact on Could 23, when Muslims worldwide will begin celebrating the top of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

“I hope that after the vacation we’ll be in a scenario when such restrictions aren’t wanted,” Erdogan said.

The Eid al-Fitr is a serious vacation in Turkey, the place Sunni Muslims are a majority, and other people usually collect in massive teams with household and buddies to have fun it, in addition to journey to different cities. The festivities often go on for 3 days straight.

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Regardless of the vacation, mosques will stay closed throughout the nation. Spiritual buildings will start permitting mass noon and afternoon prayers ranging from Could 29, Erdogan has mentioned.

Up to now, Ankara has prevented imposing a nationwide anti-coronavirus lockdown, sticking to a regional strategy as a substitute. The strict lockdown measures have affected solely about 30 Turkish cities.

Faculties will stay closed because of the pandemic till the top of the continued tutorial yr, Erdogan has mentioned, whereas distant schooling will proceed till June 19. Standard schooling, with the pupils really visiting colleges, will resume solely in September, he added.

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As of Monday, Turkey has simply over 150,000 confirmed coronavirus instances, together with greater than four,100 deaths. The nation skilled a peak in infections in April, and presently the speed of unfold has considerably slowed down, the newest statistics by the Johns Hopkins College point out.

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