“We will lift weekend curfews in low and medium-risk cities and limit the restrictions to just Sundays in high and very high-risk cities,” Erdoğan said in a statement following a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

Erdoğan noted that the weekday curfew between 9 p.m and 5 a.m. would continue throughout the country.

“Cafes and restaurants will operate with half capacity from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m in cities excluding very high-risk cities,” Erdoğan said.

Turkey's most crowded city, Istanbul, was categorized as high-risk, while the capital Ankara was in the medium-risk category.

“In-person classes will start in low- and medium-risk provinces of Turkey, including in middle and high schools,” Erdoğan added.

Turkey has so far reported more than 2.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases, with 28,638 deaths and 2,578,181 recoveries. (ILKHA)