‘Turkey will continue implementing current pandemic measures’

* Photo: Mustafa Kamacı / AA

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President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the public following the cabinet meeting in the capital city of Ankara yesterday (March 15).

In his speech, Erdoğan talked about what has been done by the government since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the economic support and investments in this context.

Amid expectations for stricter measures as the number of cases is surging, Erdoğan said, "We have decided to continue implementing current measures across our cities and to closely monitor the developments."

CLICK - Erdoğan outlines new coronavirus rules

'New restrictions if measures not observed'

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), President Erdoğan noted that Turkey may introduce new restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus if citizens fail to comply with rules.

He warned that new restrictions are "inevitable" if citizens do not comply with the COVID-19 precautionary measures.

In January, Turkey began a mass COVID-19 vaccination campaign after the first batch of China's CoronaVac vaccine arrived, and a gradual normalization from coronavirus restrictions began on March 1.​​​​​​​

Speaking within this context, Erdoğan said that 11.5 million vaccine doses have been administered countrywide, making it "one of the top five countries where vaccination is going as planned."

These include 7.94 million first doses and 3.57 million second doses.

He said that the country would continue acquiring vaccines from abroad until its locally developed COVID-19 vaccine is ready for use.

Since it originated in China in December 2019, the pandemic has claimed over 2.65 million lives in 192 countries and regions.

Over 120 million cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries now exceeding 68 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University. The United States (US), Brazil, and India remain the worst-hit countries in terms of cases. (EKN/SD)