The Interior Ministry ordered the governorates of 81 provinces in Turkey to launch mass inspections Wednesday as the country’s daily cases of COVID-19 show no sign of dropping below 1,000.
Simultaneous inspections by security forces aim to bolster enforcement of rules like the compulsory wearing of masks and social distancing. Most provinces have a mask requirement in place for all residents going out, while authorities often warn people to adhere to social distancing in busy venues. Not wearing masks is punishable with a fine of TL 900 ($131) but despite constant patrolling by security forces, people not wearing masks are common sights in many cities.
Under the ministry’s instructions, governorates will inspect marketplaces, mass transit vehicles, taxis, mosques, restaurants, cafes, parks, wedding halls, hairdressers, shopping malls, swimming pools, gyms, cinemas, theaters, theme parks and other busy places Wednesday to see whether they comply with social distancing and mask rules. Crews set to inspect those places will include representatives from associations or chambers for these businesses.
Turkey recorded 1,086 new coronavirus cases Monday, while the country's death toll from COVID-19 increased to 5,241 with 16 new fatalities, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca confirmed on Twitter.
The new cases were confirmed after some 52,193 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours. With the latest infections, Turkey’s total number of COVID-19 cases stood at 206,844 as of Monday. In the meantime, some 2,315 patients have recovered since Sunday, the minister said.
"The decrease in new cases continues. But we have to be careful, as decreases in new infections take more time, compared to increases. We are seeing more than a thousand new cases because the rules are being ignored," Koca warned.
According to data shared by the minister, 1,130 patients are still being treated in intensive care units, with 395 of them being intubated.
Despite the troubling increase in daily new infections since the normalization process began, Turkey has managed to nurse more than 85% of its coronavirus patients back to health.
Since easing or completely removing most restrictions on June 1, Turkey subsequently witnessed a spike in daily new coronavirus cases, increasing as much as twofold in two weeks.
Koca has assured the public that the local fluctuations in the number of cases do not indicate the emergence of a second wave.
However, the minister and Turkey's Coronavirus Science Board have both warned that the surge in new infections is not to be ignored and a steady increase could be a serious setback in the fight against the outbreak.