Turkey orders 48-hour curfew in 31 cities

Turkey has imposed a 48-hour curfew in 31 provinces beginning at midnight as part of measures to stem the spread of COVID-19, the country's interior ministry announced on Friday (local time).

The curfew is ordered in the capital 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, the ministry was quoted by Anadolu news agency as saying in a statement.

A circular on the issue was sent to the governorships, it added.

Bakeries, hospitals, pharmacies and workplaces producing health products and medical supplies would continue to operate, the circular said.

The curfew would not be applicable for people who will be carrying out burial procedures for their first degree relatives and those who have an appointment for blood and plasma donation for the Turkish Red Crescent.

Also, Turkey's Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu called on people to remain calm and urged against panic buying, saying the curfew will end on Sunday midnight.

"This is not a normal curfew," Soylu said, adding it is one of the measures taken to combat COVID-19.

Turkey's communications director Fahrettin Altun also called on people to comply with the curfew.

Altun said on Twitter that everyone should follow social distancing guidelines to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

On Friday, Turkey confirmed 98 more deaths due to coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 1,006.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases surged to 47,029, where a total of 2,423 have recovered and been discharged from hospitals.

The pandemic has killed more than 101,700 people, and infected over 1.67 million, while more than 372,400 people have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.