A coronavirus travel ban between Turkey's worst affected cities is being lifted while restaurants, cafes and sports facilities will reopen on June 1, the country's president said Thursday, under the next phase of plans to roll back pandemic restrictions.
In a televised address following a weekly Cabinet meeting, Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said public sector workers, except for those with chronic illnesses, will return to their workplaces on June 1, while child care facilities will be allowed to resume their services.
Erdogan said parks, beaches and museums will also be opened up while people will be permitted to attend open-air concerts. Bars and hookah bars, will remain shut.
The president also said that a stay-at-home order for people aged 65 and over, and for minors will remain for a while longer. Youths aged 19 and 20 will now be allowed outdoors, he said.
The announcement comes amid a drop in the number of reported daily COVID-19 deaths and infections in the past weeks, although some experts say the lifting of restrictions may be premature.
In his speech, Erdogan called on Turks to exercise caution, wear masks and stick to social distancing guidelines.
Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry announced a new, two-day curfew over the weekend in 15 of the country's worst-affected provinces, including Ankara and Istanbul.
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The French way of life is set to largely resume next week, with most virus-related restrictions easing as the country prepares for the summer holiday season amid the pandemic.
In a speech on Thursday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe promised that “freedom will, at last, again become the rule.”
France is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries by the coronavirus and was under strict lockdown for two months before starting to ease restrictions on May 11. Authorities have reported at least 28,596 COVID-19-related deaths.
From June 2 restaurants and cafes will reopen, together with monuments and museums, concert halls and theaters, beaches, campsites, gyms and public swimming pools.
There's a notable exception for the Paris region, the country's worst-affected by the virus, where many facilities will have to wait until June 22 to reopen.
Philippe said the French are yearning for cafes and restaurants to reopen, noting that these “are part of our art of living.”
Diners will be no more than 10 to a table, with at least 1 meter (3 feet) separating each group. Clients will have to wear masks when they move around the restaurant and staff will have to wear them all the time.
In the Paris region, only outdoor seating will be allowed.
Cinemas won’t reopen before June 22.
And as the summer holiday season looms, the French will be allowed again to travel freely across the country — instead of being limited to 100 kilometers (60 miles) from home now.
“You can move around, you can go on your annual holidays but it’s probably more reasonable to delay a long trip if that is possible,” Philippe said.
France aims at reopening its borders with other European countries on June 15, he said.
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Up to six people from different households will be allowed to meet outdoors next week as part of another modest easing of the coronavirus lockdown in England, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Thursday.
Johnson, who has faced days of scorn for keeping his top aide Dominic Cummings in post following his controversial travels during the lockdown, said families and friends in groups of up to six can meet from Monday in outdoor spaces, including private gardens.
Johnson said at a news conference that this was potentially a “long-awaited and joyful moment” for parents and grandparents but stressed that people from different households must remain 2 meters (6.5 feet) apart and should only access homes to get to the garden. Barbecues are allowed as part of the easing but camping in gardens is not. The use of toilets is permitted as long as hands are washed thoroughly and surfaces are wiped down.
The prime minister also confirmed that schools will start reopening from Monday, initially for some younger students. Outdoor-based shops, such as car showrooms, can also reopen. Earlier, England's Premier League also said the soccer season is to recommence on June 17.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are also easing lockdowns, in slightly different ways.
Johnson said the “limited and cautious” changes to the lockdown, in place since March 23, were possible because five government-imposed tests have been met. These include sustained falls in virus infections and daily deaths.
Though the number of coronavirus-related deaths has fallen since the peak in early April, the U.K. still recorded another 377 in all settings including hospitals and care homes, taking the total to 37,837 — the second-highest in the world behind the United States.
“This is not a time to say ‘Everything’s OK, we’re relaxing measures, everything’s going to be rosy'," said the government's chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance. "We are at a fragile state.”