Full lockdown begins in Turkey

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — A full lockdown has begun in Turkey as the number of coronavirus cases continues to surge. 

The lockdown, which has closed schools and businesses, and limited travel, was announced on Monday. The measures will be in place until May 17, following Eid al-Fitr. 

The country has the highest infection rate in Europe. According to the new measures, all inter-city travel will require official approval, and people must only leave their homes for essential shopping or medical treatment, the BBC said. 

“Supermarkets will remain open except on Sundays. Intercity travel will require permission, and schools will switch to online education,” the state-owned TRT reported. 

Tukey has previously had several partial lockdowns since the start of the pandemic last year. The latest lockdown was lifted back in March, leading to a surge in new infections and deaths.

The measures come as Turkey, which heavily relies on tourism, hopes to be able to open for the summer season. 

"We hope to enter the summer season as a country with a reduced number of cases and this will positively affect the tourism movements during the summer season," Firuz Baglikaya, the head of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies told state media on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Turkey announced 40,444 new cases and 341 deaths in 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases to 4,751,026, with 9,398 deaths.

More than 22 million people have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.