ISTANBUL, Sept 13 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkey’s biggest city, Istanbul, yesterday, banned weddings and related ceremonies on boats, on the Bosphorus Strait, as well as, suspended all outdoor concerts and festivals over rising COVID-19 cases.
Istanbul governor’s office said, the decision was taken to better manage the risk of the pandemic, by ensuring social isolation and maintaining physical distancing.
The marine tourism vehicles are functioning on the strait, flowing in between the European and Asian parts of the city, for all kinds of entertainment and tourism purposes.
Earlier in the day, Turkish Health Minister, Fahrettin Koca, urged Istanbul residents to follow the COVID-19 related rules strictly, saying, the number of infected patients on Sept 11 was almost twice the figure of cases last month.
Koca announced that, the number of patients who are in critical condition has increased by 42 percent in the city, during Aug.
“Today, we raised the number of our affiliation teams by 34 percent. Let’s follow the measures together,” he also noted.
Istanbul Governor, Ali Yerlikaya, earlier said, a total of 642 units have been patrolling the city, with a population of over 16 million, to detect COVID-19 infections rapidly.– NNN-ANADOLU
