Turkey easing coronavirus restrictions further on July 1

ISTANBUL: Turkey is further relaxing restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, after the number of daily cases fell to around 5,000.

From July 1, lockdowns that had been imposed on Sundays and curfews after 1900 GMT on weekdays would be lifted, Erdogan announced following a Cabinet meeting.

"Public transportation restrictions will also be lifted and public institutions will return to normal working hours," Erdogan said.

Turkey started easing curbs in recent weeks, limiting the lockdown to Sunday and opening restaurants to a limited number of guests, after daily cases began to fall from a peak above 60,000 in April.

Turkey is hoping that the decline in infections, along with an acceleration in its vaccination programme to some 1.5 million injections a day, will help begin a recovery in its tourism sector.

The sharp rise in inoculation levels has also raised hopes of a strong economic performance in the second half of the year.

JPMorgan revised its full-year economic growth forecast up to 6.8% last week, citing the pace of vaccinations.