Turkey requires negative Covid test for all incoming passengers

Turkey’s health minister said on Friday that as of next Monday all passengers coming into the country will have to provide proof of negative tests for coronavirus carried out within 72 hours of their arrival.

Passengers who fail to provide a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result will not be allowed to board planes to Turkey, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Koca also said passengers flying in from Britain, South Africa and Denmark will be subject to quarantine upon arrival, in addition to a negative test result at the time of departure.

Covid curfew

A Turkey-wide weekend curfew became effective on Friday as part of measures to stem a new coronavirus wave, according to Anadolu Agency.

The weekend-long curfew in the country began on Friday at 9 p.m. and will end on Monday 5 a.m. local time.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in late November announced new restrictions, including a curfew on weeknights and a full weekend curfew.

Some sectors, including production, supply, health, and agriculture, will be exempt from the curfews, Erdogan said.

Supermarkets, grocery stores, butchers, and dried fruit shops will operate between 10 am and 5 pm over the weekend.

Bakeries will also remain open during the weekend curfew.

Meanwhile, restaurants will only offer delivery service between 10 am and 8 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

The announcement came after a surge in the number of COVID-19 patients in Turkey.

On Friday, Turkey reported 17,543 new Covid-19 infections, including 3,199 symptomatic patients, and saw 256 more deaths over the past 24 hours.

Since Thursday, as many as 35,511 people recovered in the country, bringing the tally to 1,970,803, and the death toll climbed to 19,371.

(With input from Anadolu Agency)