Ramadan gatherings banned as Turkey battles its third Covid wave

President Rcep Tayyip Erdogan said that measures would be tightened for the first two weeks of the Islamic holy month.

Muslims breaks the fast outside Istanbul’s Blue Mosque on Tuesday night. Picture: AFP

Turkey has banned traditional Ramadan gatherings in an attempt to bring down its soaring COVID-19 infection rate, which is now one of the highest in the world.

President Recep Erdogan said that measures would be tightened for the first two weeks of the Islamic holy month, which began on Tuesday. They may be lifted if case numbers drop sufficiently.

Traditional gatherings to break the daytime fast have been banned, including in private homes, and restaurants can only offer takeaways. Nightly curfews, which had previously started at 9pm, will now run from 7pm until 5am.

Full curfews are also in place at weekends, and travel between provinces has been banned. Over-65s and under-18s have been banned from public transport, and pregnant women and the chronically ill given leave from work.

The government hopes the tough new restrictions can halt the country’s third wave in time for its tourist resorts to open at the start of the northern summer season. A million workers in the ­tourism sector have been given priority for vaccinations.

However, Russia, which accounts for the highest number of tourists to Turkey of any country, has suspended flights until at least the beginning of June. Germans, who are the second biggest holidaymakers in Turkey, would currently have to quarantine when they return home since the country is on the EU’s red list. Britons, the third biggest group, could be allowed to travel abroad from May 17, and will be able to holiday in Turkey without vaccination certificates or negative tests. However, there are currently no direct flights between the UK and Turkey and it has not been confirmed when they might start.

New infections have soared more than fivefold since lockdowns were eased at the start of March, with 85 per cent of cases now caused by the UK variant, the Turkish health minister said. There were 54,562 new cases confirmed on Tuesday, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to nearly four million.

Ministers have blamed the public for not sticking to social distancing rules, but doctors have criticised Mr Erdogan’s AK Party for holding a series of mass indoor rallies at which many people were not wearing masks. Several party officials tested positive following the annual party congress in Ankara on March 24.

More than 9 per cent of the Turkish population has now been fully vaccinated, but most people have received the Chinese-made Sinovac, which has been shown to be less effective than other jabs.

The Times