(ANSA) - ISTANBUL, APRIL 29 - Almost total unlockdown begins tonight in Turkey, which will last until the end of the holidays for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, May 17.
This is the longest generalized confinement imposed by the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan since the beginning of the pandemic.
The declared objective of the restrictions is to bring daily infections down below 10 thousand, which at the moment are around 40 thousand, after the negative records of over 60 thousand contagions reached in mid-April.
The authorities are also aiming for an improvement in view of the tourist season. The closures concern all non-essential activities, with rare exceptions, while supermarkets will also have to respect reduced hours. Among the most discussed measures is the stop to the sale of alcohol, which according to the opposition responds to the desire to please the more conservative electorate, also given the coincidence with Ramadan.
Meanwhile, the vaccination campaign continues. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced an agreement with Moscow for the purchase of 50 million doses of Sputnik V in the next 6 months, thus adding the Russian serum to the Chinese Coronavac, which is used mainly, and to Pfizer-BioNTech. The same minister, however, has raised an alarm on the shortage of doses currently available, warning that Pfizer's recalls could slip from 4 to 6-8 weeks. Since mid-January, Ankara has administered over 22 million doses, including 8.8 million doses. (HANDLE).
