Worshippers celebrate a Good Friday service at the Marktkirche in Hanover, Germany, Friday, April 2, 2021. Despite the Corona pandemic and numerous contact restrictions, the churches are allowed to celebrate services around Easter.
People leave a vaccination center at the National Stadium that also houses a temporary COVID-19 hospital, in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 2, 2021, the day when Poland registered its all-time record number of new infections. Poland is speeding up the nationwide vaccination procedures and on Thursday opened registration for people aged 40-60.
Mountain ranges can be seen behind an almost empty Commonwealth Avenue as the government implements a strict lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Good Friday, April 2, 2021 in Quezon city, Philippines. Filipinos marked Jesus Christ's crucifixion Friday in one of the most solemn holidays in Asia's largest Catholic nation which combined with a weeklong coronavirus lockdown to empty Manila's streets of crowds and heavy traffic jams. Major highways and roads were eerily quiet on Good Friday and churches were deserted too after religious gatherings were prohibited in metropolitan Manila and four outlying provinces.
FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, file photo, a red tag hangs on a cell door, signifying an active COVID-19 case for its inhabitants at Faribault Prison, in Faribault, Minn. A Tennessee advisory panel tasked with determining eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine acknowledged that prison inmates in the state were high risk, but concluded that prioritizing them for inoculation could be a “public relations nightmare.”
FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021 file photo, a passenger wears a face mask during an airline flight after taking off from Atlanta. On Friday, April 2, 20201, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its guidance to say fully vaccinated people can travel within the U.S. without getting tested for the coronavirus or going into quarantine afterward.
Passengers enjoy the sun by a swimming pool on board the MSC Grandiosa cruise ship in Civitavecchia, near Rome, Wednesday, March 31, 2021. MSC Grandiosa, the world's only cruise ship to be operating at the moment, left from Genoa on March 30 and stopped in Civitavecchia near Rome to pick up more passengers and then sail toward Naples, Cagliari, and Malta to be back in Genoa on April 6. For most of the winter, the MSC Grandiosa has been a lonely flag-bearer of the global cruise industry stalled by the pandemic, plying the Mediterranean Sea with seven-night cruises along Italy’s western coast, its major islands and a stop in Malta.
People leave a vaccination center at the National Stadium that also houses a temporary COVID-19 hospital, in Warsaw, Poland, Friday, April 2, 2021, the day when Poland registered its all-time record number of new infections. Poland is speeding up the nationwide vaccination procedures and on Thursday opened registration for people aged 40-60.
FILE - In this March 3, 2021, file photo, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds gets the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine during a news conference at Iowa PBS in Johnston, Iowa. Reynolds, a Republican, is trying win over the one-third of adult Iowans who won't commit to getting a vaccine by emphasizing that the shots will help return life to normal. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that the percentage of Americans resisting getting inoculated has shrunk in the past few months. But it’s still not enough to pull America out of the pandemic, and reach herd immunity.
Parisians walk home just before the 19h00 curfew in front of the closed Rotonde restaurant, in Paris, Thursday, April 1, 2021. France's prime minister Jean Castex on Thursday defended new nationwide measures to combat a resurgent coronavirus in France that include closing schools for at least three weeks and putting in place a month-long domestic travel ban, the government has acted "consistently and pragmatically".
Parisians and homeless gather in front of Paris city hall, one hour after the 19h00 curfew, in Paris, Thursday, April 1, 2021. France's prime minister Jean Castex on Thursday defended new nationwide measures to combat a resurgent coronavirus in France that include closing schools for at least three weeks and putting in place a month-long domestic travel ban, the government has acted "consistently and pragmatically".
A box of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is shown in a refrigerator at the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic in Toppenish, Wash., Thursday, March 25, 2021. In Washington state, workers who labor in crowded conditions such as meatpacking facilities and farms and orchards became eligible for the vaccine earlier in the month.
FILE - In this March 26, 2021, file photo, a member of the Philadelphia Fire Department administers the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine to a person at a vaccination site setup at a Salvation Army location in Philadelphia. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that the percentage of Americans resisting getting inoculated has shrunk in the past few months. But it’s still not enough to pull America out of the pandemic, and reach herd immunity.
In this March 24, 2021 photo, a farmworker poses for the camera holding a bucket of harvested tomatoes at a farm in Delray Beach, Fla. Many U.S. health centers that serve agricultural workers across the nation are receiving COVID-19 vaccine directly from the federal government in a program created by the Biden administration. But in some states, farmworkers are not yet in the priority groups authorized to receive the shots.
A crucifix placed in Trafalgar Square on Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary, in London, Friday April 2, 2021.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, right, and his wife Kim Jung-sook wearing face masks cast their early votes for the upcoming Seoul mayoral by-election at a polling station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, April 2, 2021. The early voting for the April 7 Seoul and Busan mayoral by-election is held for two-days on April 2-3.
People wearing face masks to protect against the spread of coronavirus, wait in a queue to conduct COVID-19 rapid tests, in the southern suburb of Glyfada, Athens, Friday, April 2, 2021. Greece has announced it is relaxing some coronavirus restrictions despite surging COVID-19 cases that are straining hospitals to their limits, with retail stores to reopen and people allowed to drive outside their home municipalities for exercise on weekends.
FILE - In this March 30, 2021 file photo, visitors pose for photos during the Knott's Taste of Boysenberry Festival at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif. California will allow indoor concerts, theater performances and other private gatherings starting April 15, 2021, as the rate of people testing positive for the coronavirus in the state nears a record low.
Quiapo church stands beside an almost empty road as the government implements a strict lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus on Good Friday, April 2, 2021 in Manila, Philippines. Filipinos marked Jesus Christ's crucifixion Friday in one of the most solemn holidays in Asia's largest Catholic nation which combined with a weeklong coronavirus lockdown to empty Manila's streets of crowds and heavy traffic jams. Major highways and roads were eerily quiet on Good Friday and churches were deserted too after religious gatherings were prohibited in metropolitan Manila and four outlying provinces.
Spiridon Papadopoulos receives the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a new vaccination mega center in Athens, Friday, April 2, 2021. Greece has announced it is relaxing some coronavirus restrictions despite surging COVID-19 cases that are straining hospitals to their limits, with retail stores to reopen and people allowed to drive outside their home municipalities for exercise on weekends.
Participants dressed in black, wearing masks, beating drums and pushing small carts making a synchronized and loud sound take part in an Easter procession marching through the streets of Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, Thursday, April 1, 2021.
A nun wears a mask to protect from COVID-19, as she attends a Good Friday Mass for the Passion of Christ, at a church in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 2, 2021. Christians in Lebanon observed Good Friday under a COVID-19 lockdown and amid a severe economic crisis exacerbated by the massive explosion that demolished parts of the capital last year. Even traditional Easter sweets are a luxury few can afford.
Artem Borovoy, co-founder and director of Stend-Do, and his wife Irina Fedotova, back to a camera, and product manager Nikita Klimov, discuss their work in Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 26, 2021. When convention business ground to a halt during the pandemic, the company started making folding desks for those working from home — an idea Borovoy said came from Zoom discussions with his friends “out of desperation.” Simple plywood desks that fold like an easel and can be used either sitting or standing proved popular for those working remotely from tiny apartments.
A child stands at the top of Cardboard Hill to get one last ride before dark at Renaissance park on Tuesday, March 30, 2021, in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tami Morrison, right, gives Lisetta White her first COVID-19 vaccination at the Oakley Lindsey Center on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021.
A healthcare worker prepares to test a teenager for COVID-19, on the outskirts of Montevideo, Uruguay, Thursday, March 18, 2021. Uruguay is facing a steep rise in new coronavirus infections.
A devotee offers prayers outside the Quiapo church on Good Friday, April 2, 2021 as the government implements a strict lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Manila, Philippines. Filipinos marked Jesus Christ's crucifixion Friday in one of the most solemn holidays in Asia's largest Catholic nation which combined with a weeklong coronavirus lockdown to empty Manila's streets of crowds and heavy traffic jams. Major highways and roads were eerily quiet on Good Friday and churches were deserted too after religious gatherings were prohibited in metropolitan Manila and four outlying provinces.
A priest wears a mask to protect from COVID-19, as he performs rituals during a Good Friday Mass for the Passion of Christ, at a church in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 2, 2021. Christians in Lebanon observed Good Friday under a COVID-19 lockdown and amid a severe economic crisis exacerbated by the massive explosion that demolished parts of the capital last year. Even traditional Easter sweets are a luxury few can afford.
Baseball fans wait in line before the gates opened up before a baseball game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres Thursday, April 1, 2021, on opening day in San Diego. The U.S. moved closer Thursday toward vaccinating 100 million Americans in a race against an uptick in COVID-19 cases that is fueling fears of another nationwide surge just as the major league baseball season starts and thousands of fans return to stadiums.
FILE - In this March 16, 2021, file photo, an usher holds a sign to remind fans to wear masks during a spring training baseball game between the Oakland Athletics and the Arizona Diamondbacks in Scottdale, Ariz. The Republican-controlled Arizona Senate voted Monday, March 29, to rescind its mandatory mask policy, and the House speaker made the same move on his own authority.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey gives a thumbs up to Doris Coleston after Coleston received a COVID-19 vaccination at a clinic in Camden, Ala. on Friday, April 2, 2021.
FILE - In this Dec. 2, 2020, file photo, Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey arrives for a news conference to talk about the latest Arizona COVID-19 information in Phoenix. Ducey is prohibiting government mask mandates and allowing bars and nightclubs shuttered for months to open their doors without restrictions. Ducey's move Thursday, March 25, 2021, leaves in place few of the restrictions he implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In this March 24, 2021 photo, a farmworker harvests tomatoes at a farm in Delray Beach, Fla. Many U.S. health centers that serve agricultural workers across the nation are receiving COVID-19 vaccine directly from the federal government in a program created by the Biden administration. But in some states, farmworkers are not yet in the priority groups authorized to receive the shots.
FILE - In this March 29, 2021, file photo, UM-Flint nursing student Michaela Dimello helps administer the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to Genesee County residents at Bishop Airport in Flint, Mich. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that the percentage of Americans resisting getting inoculated has shrunk in the past few months. But it’s still not enough to pull America out of the pandemic, and reach herd immunity.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, residents wearing masks line up for COVID-19 vaccination at the Jingcheng Hospital in Ruili city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, April 1, 2021. The Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 this week began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a woman registers information for COVID-19 vaccination at the Jingcheng Hospital in Ruili city in southwestern China's Yunnan Province, April 1, 2021. The Chinese border city hit by a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 this week began a five-day drive Friday to vaccinate its entire population of 300,000 people.
After looking away while being administered the Johnson & Johnson vaccine following a news conference about opening vaccine eligibility, Oklahoman Gov. Kevin Stitt looks back at the needle, Monday, March 29, 2021, in Oklahoma City.
FILE - In this March 18, 2021, file photo, Cesar Verdugo, 5, shows his work to his teacher in a pre-kindergarten class at West Orange Elementary School in Orange, Calif. With a massive infusion of federal aid coming their way, schools across the U.S. are weighing how to use the windfall to ease the harm of the pandemic — and to tackle problems that existed long before the coronavirus.
A South Korean elderly woman in a wheelchair arrives to receive the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, April 1, 2021. South Korea started its coronavirus vaccination for senior citizens over 75 years old.
SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea’s daily increase in coronavirus infections exceeded 500 for the fourth straight day, a pace unseen since January, as experts raise concern about another viral surge amid a slow rollout in vaccines.
The 543 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Saturday brought the national caseload to 104,736, including 1,740 deaths.
More than 320 of the new cases came from the Seoul metropolitan area, home to half of the country’s 51 million people, where officials have struggled to stem transmissions tied to various places, including bars, offices, factories, schools, and gyms.
Health authorities this week said they are considering whether to approve rapid coronavirus tests that would allow people to regularly test themselves at home as they look for further tools to fight the virus.
South Korea has wrestled with a slower rollout of vaccines than many other developed economies, with officials insisting they could afford a wait-and-see approach as its outbreak isn’t as dire as in the United States or Europe.
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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
VACCINES: More than 101.8 million people, or 30.7% of the U.S. population, have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some 57.9 million people, or 17.5% of the population, have completed their vaccination.
CASES: The seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. increased over the past two weeks from 54,696 on March 18 to 65,684 on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
DEATHS: The seven-day rolling average for daily new deaths in the U.S. decreased over the past two weeks decreased from 1,228 on March 18 to 869 on Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
— CDC: Those fully vaccinated can travel again in U.S.
— UK bans travel from 4 more nations over virus; 39 in all
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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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SAN FRANCISCO — California on Friday cleared the way for people to attend indoor concerts, theater performances and NBA games for the first time in more than a year as the rate of people testing positive for the coronavirus in the state nears a record low.
State officials won’t require testing or proof of vaccination for some of those events, but they do limit the number of people allowed to attend. Events that do require testing and vaccinations will be allowed to have more paying customers than those that don’t. Only people who live in California can attend these live performances.
The rules are different for private indoor gatherings, including weddings, meetings or conferences. Those are only to be allowed if all guests test negative for the coronavirus at least 72 hours in advance or show proof of full vaccination.
“Allowing some of these activities and opportunities to vaccinated individuals is an incentive,” said Dee Dee Myers, director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. “If they can return to some of their favorite activities because they’re vaccinated then hopefully a few more people will go and get vaccinated.”
The new rules seem to nudge California toward a system of vaccine verification, a hotly debated issue across the country. New York has launched a digital pass residents can use to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test that is accepted at major entertainment venues. But Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Friday banning businesses from requiring so-called “vaccine passports.”
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Despite promises from Gov. Gavin Newsom to build an “army” of contact tracers to contain the coronavirus pandemic, a new audit says California mustered less than half of the number promised.
But even if the staffing goals were met, it would not have been enough. The intended number of contact tracers was based on an assumption that California would average 5,000 new coronavirus infections a day. But the nation’s most populated state averaged 25,000 per day from late November to the end of December.
“The sheer number of cases has overwhelmed local health jurisdictions’ contact tracing efforts,” State Auditor Elaine Howle wrote in the report released Thursday.
Public health officials say one of the best ways to slow the spread of a dangerous disease is to contact infected people and retrace their steps. The goal is to identify others who have been exposed, contact them and ask them to quarantine before they can spread the virus to others.
Contact tracing was central to California’s strategy early in the pandemic. The Department of Public Health estimated the state needed 31,400 contact tracers. Newsom pledged to train 10,000 state workers and deploy them to help local public health departments meet that goal.
But by January, California had just 12,100 contact tracers, including 2,262 state workers.
That month, the state reported 834,000 COVID-19 infections. Local health officials tried to contact 85% of those people, but reached just 40%. Of those they did interview, officials identified others at risk of exposure in just 16% of total cases in January.
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LINCOLN, Neb. — A 31-year-old Nebraska cattle rancher is recovering after doctors replaced his coronavirus-damaged lungs.
The Lincoln Journal-Star reports that Jake Immink, of Fairbury, got sick around Halloween and wound up hospitalized on a ventilator for months. His lungs were so damaged that his only chance for a fairly normal life was a double-lung transplant.
He underwent the surgery March 20 after losing weight and building up strength. He put his new lungs to the test this week, walking a mile and a half.
“I fully expect him to be herding cattle this summer,” said Dr. Heather Strah, a transplant pulmonologist with Nebraska Medicine in Omaha.
Doing transplants for patients whose lungs are damaged by an acute illness is rare, although it has become more common because of COVID-19. Strah said she’s aware of about 40 that have been done since the start of the pandemic, but Immink’s was the first in Nebraska.
Immink said he wants to be a cautionary tale to people who may not think COVID-19 is a big deal, and he encouraged everyone to get vaccinated as soon as they can.
“I just hope everyone takes it serious and we can get back to a normal life,” he said.
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OKLAHOMA CITY — Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed nearly a third of Oklahomans have received at least one coronavirus vaccination.
Data showed more than 1.26 million people in the state have received at least one dose, about 32% of the state’s nearly 4 million residents. More than 753,000 people have completed their vaccinations.
Deputy state health Commissioner Keith Reed said the total number of doses given has topped 2 million.
The state had the 22nd highest percentage of the population receiving at least one dose, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The rolling average of new Oklahoma coronavirus cases declined by 27.4% during the past two weeks from 447.3 per day to 324.7, according to the Johns Hopkins data.
Totals of 439,149 cases and 7,932 deaths since the pandemic began were reported by the Oklahoma State Department of Health, increases of 372 cases from Thursday and 34 additional deaths. The health department cited CDC death counts in its report.
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MISSION, Kan. — Kansas counties already had started dropping or weakening mask rules before lawmakers toppled Gov. Laura Kelly’s newly reissued order requiring them. More counties are expected to follow suit.
Kelly’s order was similar to one passed in November. It was always porous, allowing the state’s 105 counties to set their own possibly less restrictive rules or opt out of the order entirely.
The Democratic governor was required to reissue it Thursday under a new Kansas law. That law also gives eight top legislators the power to reject her efforts to set rules to address the pandemic.
The lawmakers overturned Kelly’s order hours later on a party-line vote. That left counties that hadn’t set their own rules without mask requirements.
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The race is on to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against COVID-19, but a significant number of people in the U.S. are still reluctant to get the shots, even in places where they are plentiful. That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The poll reports that 25% of Americans say they probably or definitely will not get vaccinated.
The holdouts are leery about possible side effects. They tend to be Republican, and they are usually younger and less susceptible to becoming critically ill or dying if they catch COVID-19.
There’s been a slight shift, though, since the first weeks of the nation’s largest-ever vaccination campaign, which began in mid-December. An AP-NORC poll conducted in late January showed that 67% of adult Americans were willing to get vaccinated or had already received at least one shot. Now that figure has climbed to 75%.
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PHOENIX — The governor of Arizona is demanding that Phoenix drop plans to close parking lots and grills at city parks on Easter weekend.
Gov. Doug Ducey blasted Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego for the move, escalating a long-simmering fight between the Republican governor and Democratic mayor.
The city says parks are open but parking is restricted to discourage large gatherings that can lead to a surge in COVID-19 cases. Ducey says the decision will only drive gatherings indoors where virus transmission is more likely.
The governor’s comments come as Arizona reports the largest daily increase in confirmed COVID-19 infections in three weeks with 940 additional cases along with 12 more deaths.
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PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon’s top public health official says the governor needs to “start raising a ruckus” over what he sees as an unfair supply of the COVID-19 vaccine sent to Oregon by the federal government compared to other states.
Oregon Health Authority Director Patrick Allen said in a letter to Gov. Kate Brown that if Oregon received the same amount of vaccine doses per capita as California, Oregon could have vaccinated an additional 150,000 residents by now.
He says if Oregon got as much vaccine as Kansas, that number rises to 227,000 additional Oregonians vaccinated.
Oregon ranks 39th in doses administered.
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BELGRADE, Serbia — Serbia has received the first shipment of vaccines via the international COVAX mechanism.
International and the officials from the Serbian government welcomed at the Belgrade airport the delivery of 57,600 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines.
Serbia has separately acquired vaccines primarily China’s Sinopharm and also Pfizer-BioNTech, Russia’s Sputnik V and AstraZeneca. The country of 7 million so far has vaccinated some 1.5 million people with at least one dose.
Authorities also proposed to allow bars and restaurants to serve guests outside and stay open longer from next week, although nearly 5,000 new cases were reported in the past 24 hours and 39 people died.
Serbian doctors have repeatedly called for tougher measures warning that the system is highly-strung, but the government argues that lockdown is hurting the economy.
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ISLAMABAD — Pakistani authorities announced to start walk-in vaccination of people who are 65-year-old or above amid a spike in fatalities and confirmed cases from coronavirus.
The older people can just walk in to designated medical facilities to get vaccination, according to the country’s National Command and Control Center which oversees Pakistan’s response to COVID-19.
The announcement comes after Pakistan imported 1 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China, the first purchase that comes after initial donations. Pakistan is currently in the middle of the third wave of coronavirus.
Pakistan on Friday reported over 5,000 new cases in the past 24 hours, the highest single-day infection rate since June 2020.
Pakistan has reported a total of 678,165 infection cases and 14,613 deaths from coronavirus since last year.
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CAMDEN, Ala. — Residents 16 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations in Alabama on Monday, expanding an immunization program that ranks last in the nation.
Gov. Kay Ivey, who made the announcement Friday after touring a National Guard vaccine clinic in her home county of Wilcox, called the vaccine against the coronavirus “our ticket back to normal.”
The expansion of the vaccines means about 4 million of the state’s 4.9 million residents will be eligible for shots.
The state is currently receiving 115,000 first doses weekly, according to the governor’s office. More than 1.1 million people have received at least one vaccine dose in Alabama, and more than 660,000 are fully vaccinated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicate Alabama is last in the nation for one-shot vaccinations (24.7%), with neighboring Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee only slightly better.
More than 10,600 people have died from the coronavirus in Alabama, which has reported 516,000 cases.
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PHOENIX — Arizona health officials are preparing to move the state’s largest COVID-19 vaccination site indoors as temperatures rise.
Gov. Doug Ducey says the site will move April 23 from the parking lot of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals stadium in Glendale to the air-conditioned interior of the nearby NHL’s Arizona Coyotes arena. It will stop its current 24-hour-a-day operations and run from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Ducey made the announcement as the state reported its largest daily increase in confirmed cases in three weeks with 940 infections and 12 more deaths.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order banning businesses from requiring customers to show proof that they’ve been vaccinated to get service.
The Republican governor had previously announced his intent to issue an order banning so-called “vaccine passports.” His action also barred any government agency in Florida from issuing such documentation for the purpose of providing proof of vaccinations.
In his executive order, DeSantis asserts “vaccination passports reduce individual freedom and will harm patient privacy.”
The order doesn’t preclude businesses, such as restaurants and retail stores, from screening protocols and other measures recommended by state and federal health officials.
Florida has reported more than 2 million cases and nearly 33,500 confirmed deaths.
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ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey reported 42,308 coronavirus cases on Friday, a single-day record for infections.
The new infections pushed the total number of cases to 3.4 million.
This week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government reinstated weekend lockdown in most of Turkey’s provinces. He also announced restrictions over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, amid a new surge of infections in the country.
About 75% of the infections have been traced to the more contagious variant first identified in Britain, according to the health ministry.
Turkey’s overall confirmed death toll rose to 31,892, with 179 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
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