Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has reiterated his call on the government for the imposition of a city-wide curfew following Health Minister Fahrettin Koca shared details on the distribution of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Turkey.
Koca on April 1 said the virus had spread across all 81 provinces in Turkey, but that 60% of cases were in Istanbul. He said there were 8,852 cases and 117 deaths in Istanbul.
“In line with our prior statements, Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca has just confirmed that #Istanbul is the epicenter of the #coronavirus pandemic in Turkey with 60% of the cases. I reiterate my call for a partial curfew to be imposed for Istanbul as quickly as possible,” İmamoğlu tweeted shortly after Koca’s speech.
In an interview on March 30, İmamoğlu voiced concern for the situation in Istanbul, saying that 60 percent of the city “is in danger.”
“Some 60 percent of Istanbul is in danger. If 15 percent of the city’s population go outside, that would mean 2.5 million people. The number corresponds to the population of some European cities,” İmamoğlu said in an interview, adding that people go out on the streets when whether gets warmer.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been dismissing calls to impose a curfew amid the increasing number of coronavirus cases.