Turkey followed 3-day virus restrictions: Ministry

By Orhan Onur Gemici

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish public largely complied with the three-day restrictions taken in 31 provinces to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said that although most people adopted the stay-at-home rules, judicial or administrative proceedings were applied for 27,828 people who broke the three-day curfew in 31 provinces starting on May 1.

The ministry also said that the quarantine was lifted at 247 residential areas in 54 provinces.

Calling on citizens to observe social distancing rules and isolation, the ministry urged people to wear masks in necessary places.

Despite positive results thanks to measures, the ministry said: “The danger of the pandemic has not passed yet.”

On Sunday, the Turkish health minister said that the country continues on the trajectory of more recoveries from coronavirus.

"For the first time since March 11, the number of recovered patients has surpassed the current number of coronavirus patients in Turkey," Fahrettin Koca said.

As of Sunday, Turkey registered a total of 3,397 deaths due to coronavirus whereas nearly 63,200 people have recovered from the disease. Currently, there are 126,045 confirmed cases in the country.

The virus has killed more than 245,000 people, with total infections over 3.47 million in 187 countries. Meanwhile, just over 1.11 million people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.