With drop in COVID cases, Turkey to drop curfews from July 1: President

By Jeyhun Aliyev and Handan Kazanci

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey is set to end pandemic curfews as of next Thursday, July 1, amid a nationwide fall in COVID-19 cases, the country's president announced on Monday.

On the same day Turkey will also lift intercity travel restrictions and restrictions on urban public transport, said Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a three-hour-plus Cabinet meeting at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

Thanks to the drop in virus cases, Turkey will return to normal working order in public institutions and organizations as of July 1, he told reporters.

But Erdogan also stressed how “vital” it is for everyone to get jabs when their turn comes in the vaccination drive the country launched in mid-January.

On June 1, Turkey eased some measures to fight the virus as the number of coronavirus cases in the country began dropping following a 17-day lockdown.

-Turkey-US relations

On relations between Turkey and the US, Erdogan said the two countries are ushering in a new era on a “positive and constructive basis” following last week’s meeting with US President Joe Biden during a NATO summit in Brussels.

Turkey is determined to transform the “beautiful climate” achieved with Biden into maximum benefit for both countries, he added.

Following the meeting, Biden said he had a "very good meeting" with his Turkish counterpart.

The one-on-one meeting at NATO headquarters lasted for 45 minutes – the first time the leaders met since Biden took office this January.