ISTANBUL (AP) – Turkey’s weekly COVID-19 regional figures continue to rise and deaths rise as the country maintains more relaxed restrictions for now.
The country’s official death toll from the pandemic rose to 30,061 on Sunday, when the government reported 102 new deaths. Daily deaths had dropped to an average of 65 the previous two weeks.
Health Ministry statistics released on Saturday afternoon showed the infection rate of more than 251 cases per 100,000 in Istanbul, the country’s largest city, 41% more than last week. That means about 40,000 new infections in Istanbul alone, which has quadrupled from figures first published six weeks ago.
The government has divided its 81 provinces into four risk categories and said it would assess “controlled normalization” efforts at the local level every two weeks. The latest figures show that many cities have a “high risk” or a “high risk”.
The Turkish president announced this week that relaxed restrictions, such as eating at the restaurant and reducing curfews, would continue “for a longer time” despite the growing infection, but said tougher measures could be taken.
According to measures announced in early March, weekend curfews remained in “very high-risk” cities and Sunday closures in “high-risk” cities. The restaurants are open for indoor and outdoor dining in all categories other than “very high risk” and the night curfews apply nationwide.
The nationwide seven-day average of infections has risen to more than 19,000, reaching daily rates that were last seen in December. It also increases the number of patients in critical care and deaths.
In the face of an economic recession, the government has been pressured by businessmen to resume operations during the pandemic.
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