Turkey on Friday ordered citizens to stay at home for 48 hours across 31 cities starting at midnight to contain the spread of COVID-19, immediately triggering panic buying in some cities.
The Turkish Ministry of the Interior said in a statement that the order would last until midnight today in dozens of cities, including the economic hub of Istanbul and the capital, Ankara.
Almost immediately afterward, thousands of people in Istanbul and Ankara flocked to markets and bakeries still open for last-minute shopping, Agence France-Presse correspondents said.
Photo: AP
Roads in both cities were also full of traffic, with long lines forming outside grocery stores and banks.
Istanbul resident Simona Hayrabet, who had gone out to get some fruit and water for the weekend, said she had expected such a move by the government, “but it happened so abruptly.”
Another resident, Marina Gravina Zagaia, criticized the late night announcement, while Salih Topcu, holding a shopping list written by his wife, described it as “nonsense.”
“It is really bad that they announced it so late. Had it been in the morning, we would have gone to the markets to get food and drinks,” Zagaia told reporters.
“Right now everyone is going through chaos,” she added.
Turkish officials rushed to reassure citizens that the lockdown did not affect basic necessities and that it would only last 48 hours.
The ministry said that bakeries, pharmacies, emergency call centers, gas stations and postal delivery companies would remain operational.
Staff at newspapers, radio stations and TV networks would also be exempt, it added.
Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu said “this is not a normal curfew” and would end by tonight, state broadcaster TRT Haber reported.
“People are in a panic and I find this normal, but this panic is not necessary,” Soylu added.
Presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun urged citizens via Twitter “to comply with this weekend’s lockdown without panicking.” Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition party, who had previously called for a lockdown, was also critical of the short notice and complained of not being informed in advance.
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