ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s interior ministry on Sunday lifted a full lockdown that had ordered people to stay home to fight COVID-19 infections, shifting to a less-restrictive program that still involved curfews on weeknights and weekends. Foreign tourists and workers with special permits are exempt. New infections and COVID-19 deaths exploded after Turkey lifted most restrictions in March, prompting the government to introduce a full lockdown at end of April. Turkey’s president said the COVID-19 restrictions aimed to reduce new cases to below 5,000 a day so that Turkey’s vital tourism industry wouldn’t be devastated for a second straight summer. But millions of workers are exempt and so are foreign tourists.

Source: Egypt Independent May 16, 2021 11:15 UTC