Turkey: Sea links to Istanbul to be suspended over virus

Sea transportation to and from the Turkish metropolitan city of Istanbul, as well as travel by private boats across the city will be suspended over the coronavirus outbreak, the provincial governor announced Friday.

The suspension, which does not include transit cargo or passenger transportation, will begin at 11.59 p.m. local time (2059GMT) Friday night, Ali Yerlikaya tweeted.

Seagoing passenger service during curfew will be available in limited periods of time, according to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Turkey on April 11-12 imposed a 48-hour curfew in 31 provinces across the country, as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The next curfew will be imposed on April 18-19.

So far, the novel coronavirus has claimed 1,769 lives in Turkey, with registered cases topping 78,500.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 149,300 people, with total infections exceeding 2.2 million, while nearly 561,000 have recovered from the disease, according to figures compiled by the U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.