Turkey’s New Coronavirus Cases at Highest Level in Almost a Month

(Bloomberg) --

The easing of lockdown measures in Turkey continued to weigh on the spread of the coronavirus, as the number of new infections rose for a fourth consecutive day on Saturday.

The government reported 1,459 daily cases, the most since May 16. Fourteen people died, bringing the death toll to 4,792.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca pointed out the dangers in a Twitter post, saying that the rise in daily cases is “a warning to those who don’t observe the measures.”

The rise in infections follows a gradual easing of restrictions that began at the end of May. A curfew for people older than 65 and younger than 18 was lifted, along with inter-city travel restrictions as tourism season started. Theaters were allowed to reopen while domestic flights also restarted.

Turkey declared “mission accomplished” in its fight against the outbreak May 20, when new cases fell below 1,000 for the first time since the early days of the outbreak. Saturday was the second day they exceeded that total since May 29.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.