Turkey's 2-day curfew begins in 31 provinces

By Kemal Karadag

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's two-day curfew in 31 provinces took effect at midnight Friday to stem the spread of novel coronavirus.

The country’s interior ministry made announcement late Friday and said it would affect the provinces of Ankara, Adana, Antalya, Aydin, Balikesir, Bursa, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Kayseri, Kocaeli, Konya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Ordu, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Tekirdag, Trabzon, Van and Zonguldak.

Consumers were seen rushing into supermarkets and bakeries hours before the curfew.

A letter about the curfew was sent to the governorships.

Turkey confirmed 98 more deaths from the virus Friday, bringing that number to 1,006.
The number of confirmed cases surged to 47,029 with 2,423 patients recovering and discharged from hospitals.

After originating in China in December, the virus has spread to at least 185 countries and regions with its epicenter shifting to Europe.

The pandemic has killed more than 101,700 people, and infected an excess of 1.68 million, while nearly 375,000 people have recovered, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.