There’s a much renewed sense of confidence and joy in the world at the moment, as for most the onset of Spring also brings about the slow but steady lifting of the restrictions, as the national efforts with the lockdown & the huge vaccination drive has decreased the infection rate of the Coronavirus.
Currently in Turkey, although the weeknight curfews lasting from 9pm to 5am will remain in place throughout the country, the weekend curfew is now being withdrawn, but only in areas which meet the low to medium risk category, which will be assessed according to the incline or decline of the situation in each province. In most cases, the risk assessment will be based upon three main factors, the rate of infection per 100,000 people, test results & intensive care hospital occupation.
A lifting of the restrictions has meant that café’s and restaurants can re-open, at a 50% capacity rate and all pre-school plus elementary schools which cater for pupils from grades 8 through to 12 can start to welcome their students back into the classroom, depending on parental consent. It won’t come as surprise to you that it’s a massive boost for café & restaurant owners who up until now have only been able to serve takeaway, and it’s a sigh of relief for parents who’ve had to juggle working from home, whilst also trying to manage the online learning needs for their children.
Full details of the strategy were released by President Erdogan on the 1st March and one of the things he was most proud of was the resilience of everyone involved with the vaccine drive, which has now meant that over 10% of the population has been vaccinated, one of only 5 countries in the world to do so. In terms of figures that equates to approx. 9 million, 2 million of which have already had 2 doses.
