Turkey Sees New COVID-19 Cases Drop Below 50,000 for First Time in 18 Days

Visitors are lined up waiting their turn to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine near a hospital in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, on the 3rd (local time). (Photo by AP, Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] In Turkey, where partial lockdown orders have been imposed nationwide, the number of new COVID-19 cases has fallen below 50,000.

On the 24th (local time), the Turkish Ministry of Health announced that the number of new COVID-19 cases in the country was recorded at 49,438. This is the first time in 18 days since the 6th (49,584 cases) that the daily new cases in Turkey have dropped below 50,000.

However, Turkey still ranks fourth in the world for new daily cases, following India, the United States, and Brazil. The cumulative number of confirmed cases and deaths reached 4,550,820 and 37,672, respectively.

On the 1st of last month, Turkey implemented "normalization measures," switching school education from online to in-person classes and reopening restaurants and cafes. However, as new cases surged more than fivefold afterward, the Turkish government reverted school classes back to online from the 13th and allowed restaurants and cafes to operate only for delivery. Additionally, a partial lockdown was imposed nationwide, including nighttime and weekend curfews and bans on intercity travel.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.