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Istanbul restricts indoor ceremonies as COVID cases, deaths rise

Istanbul restricts indoor ceremonies as COVID cases, deaths rise

By Reuters

FILE - In this Friday, March 24, 2017 file photo, people walk backdropped by the Byzantine-era Hagia Sophia, one of Istanbul's main tourist attractions, in the historic Sultanahmet district of Istanbul. The 6th-century building is now at the center of a heated debate between conservative groups who want it to be reconverted into a mosque and those who believe the World Heritage site should remain a museum. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

ISTANBUL: Authorities in Istanbul announced curbs on weddings and other ceremonies in Turkey’s largest city on Saturday as the number of daily coronavirus cases and deaths hit their highest level nationwide in more than two months. From Monday indoor weddings, engagement parties and circumcision ceremonies will be banned, Istanbul’s governor’s office said. Children and people aged over 60 will be barred from outdoor ceremonies which still go ahead, it said. The restrictions were published a few hours before Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 1,549 new cases of coronavirus had been diagnosed in Turkey, the highest daily number since mid-June. Thirty-nine people died, the most since mid-May, he said. “The number of patients in serious condition continues to increase,” Koca said in a Tweet. “We cannot be relaxed about following the measures” to curb the outbreak, he said.