Turkey: COVID-19 restrictions are reinstated

Based on the advice and recommendations of the Scientific Committee, the Presidential Cabinet, headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, decided to reinstate the COVID-19 restrictions from 20 November 2020.

On 18 November 2020, the Ministry of Internal Affairs published the Circular on New Measures Against Coronavirus Outbreak (“Circular”), which sets out the details of the restrictions. Accordingly, the following new restrictions will enter into force in all provinces on Friday 20 November 2020 at 20.00:

• A partial curfew on weekends will apply until further notice, with the exception of 10.00-20.00 hours. This curfew will apply (i) from Saturday at 20.00 to Sunday at 10.00 and (ii) from Sunday at 20.00 to Monday at 05.00. However, employees in production, manufacturing, supply chains and healthcare, and foreigners visiting Turkey for tourism are excluded from this weekend curfew;
• Residents in Turkey aged sixty-five (65) and over may only go outside between 10.00 and 13.00, while residents in Turkey aged 20 and under may only go outside between 13.00 and 16.00. Employees who present proof of employment are excluded from this restriction;
• Shopping centres, supermarkets, barbers, hairdressers and beauty centres will only be open for services between 10.00-20.00;
• Restaurants, pastry shops, cafés and cafeterias will offer delivery or collection services in the restaurant between 10.00 and 20.00. After 20.00, only restaurants or online food ordering companies will be available for delivery; and
• Film theatres will be closed until 31 December 2020, while coffee houses, rural gardens, internet cafés, internet/electronic arcades, billiard halls, pubs, tea gardens and football pitches will be closed until further notice. The water pipe lounges, whose activities were previously suspended, will also remain closed.

In order to minimise the impact of the restrictions on daily life, the following companies and their employees will be exempted from the weekend curfew:

• Manufacturers of medicines, medical equipment, medical masks and disinfectants, transporters and vendors;
• Pharmacies, veterinary clinics, veterinary hospitals and public and private health institutions and organisations;
• Public institutions and organisations and companies necessary for the maintenance of mandatory public services (airports, ports, border gates, customs, motorways, nursing homes, homes for the elderly, rehabilitation centres, emergency centres, immigration services, etc.);
• Large institutions and companies active in the gas, electricity and oil sectors (such as refineries and petrochemical plants);
• Companies active in the national and international transport and logistics sector (including transit pass);
• Hotels and accommodation centers;
• Companies/businesses active in increasing the capacity of health services, such as urgent construction works;
• Animal shelters, animal farms and animal care centers;
• Production and manufacturing facilities;
• Newspapers, radios, television stations, printing works and newspaper distributors;
• Fuel stations and tire repair centers (those which may remain open during curfews will be determined by the Governors of each province); and
• Wholesale vegetable/fruit markets.

Please note that local authorities may impose additional COVID-19 restrictions without prior notice.

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