Tuesday marked the start of summer for millions but it carried a new meaning for business owners and students. Chairs were placed next to tables again in restaurants and cafes as the first customers trickled in. At schools, students were excited to reunite with classmates after months apart, Trend reports citing Daily Sabah.
It is the start of a new “normalization” process announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday evening. The country eased restrictions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, to the relief of thousands of businesses and students stuck at home.
For June, most restrictions were eased while the government is expected to ease them further, based on pandemic trends and vaccination numbers, next month.
Under the new normalization process, the start of nighttime curfews for weekdays was pushed to 10 p.m. from 9 p.m. and now includes Saturdays. On Sundays, a full lockdown will be in place, from 10 p.m. on Saturday to 5 a.m. on Monday.
Restaurants and cafes are allowed to serve customers on the condition of ensuring social distancing between tables and chairs, between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. Tea houses, amateur sports halls, gyms and amusement parks were also opened, except for Sunday. Wedding parties, which were once blamed for clusters of infections, were also allowed to resume but with strict observation of rules, such as social distancing and protective masks.
The government allowed the normalization with a “relative decline” in the number of cases as Erdogan stated after a Cabinet meeting on Monday. He said that the “measures have achieved their purpose.” He was referring to a 17-day lockdown that ended on May 17, which tightened existing curfews.
Also on Tuesday, primary schools were opened, for two-day in-person education per week. Secondary school and high school students will start in-person education next week, while schools in sparsely populated rural areas are allowed to be opened for five days a week.