Erdogan warns Turkey may tighten measures if ‘voluntary quarantine’ ignored

Turkey will have to take additional measures if the coronavirus outbreak grows and people don’t abide by a “voluntary quarantine,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

“We may have to take much more advanced measures if the pandemic spreads and our citizens don’t stay at home,” Erdogan told a meeting of his AK Party provincial heads in a televised video conference.

Erdogan has stopped short of announcing a full lockdown across Turkey, mainly for economic reasons, despite growing pressure to do so after cases of coronavirus surged to more than 13,000 in just three weeks, with 214 deaths, Reuters reports.

“We are determined to continue production and exports,” Erdogan said. On Monday, he said that the country must carry on producing and “keep wheels turning” to support exports and sustain the supply of basic goods.