ISTANBUL, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has tightened measures against the COVID-19 pandemic across the country as of Wednesday after daily new cases surpassed the threshold of 1,000 for the first time in weeks.
The Interior Ministry pointed out at a notice sent to all the governor's offices in 81 provinces across the country that inspections would mostly focus on quarantine conditions, social distancing, wearing masks, and hygiene.
It said local authorities would strictly follow those under quarantine at home to see whether the isolation conditions are met.
Measures in celebrations such as weddings and engagement parties have also been tightened to curb the fast spreading of the pandemic, the notice said, adding that funerals and other large gatherings would also be rigidly controlled.
The Central Anatolian Kirikkale, meanwhile, became a pilot province in adopting a new model in the fight against the coronavirus, according to the notice.
A surveillance team of 100 people will control all the COVID-19 related measures across the city, and a new call center will also investigate complaints about citizens violating the rules, it said.
The country's confirmed daily cases increased by 1,083 on Tuesday, taking the number of total infections to 234,934, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced.
The total death toll, meanwhile, reached 5,765, with 18 more died during the last 24 hours, according to the ministry's data.
The number of new daily cases in Turkey's biggest city Istanbul, which accounted for 45 percent of all the infected cases, reached 134 on Monday, up from 132 the previous day, the ministry also revealed at a report.
Istanbul police teams conducted a series of inspections on Tuesday night on boats rented for parties and celebrations on the Bosphorus Strait, press reports said.
Several boat owners and organizers were fined for violating the COVID-19 rules, which include obeying social distancing, wearing masks, and hygiene.
Meanwhile, some media outlets said on Wednesday that most of the public transport vehicles in Istanbul are packed with passengers, totally ignoring the social distancing rule. The NTV broadcaster released a photo of a minibus in the Kucukcekmece district of Istanbul, traveling with a door open due to the crowd inside.
Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced on his twitter account that the most comprehensive inspection of COVID-19 rules would be conducted on Thursday throughout the country.
He said markets, workplaces, grocers, public transport vehicles, roads, shopping areas, restaurants, cafeterias, commercial taxis, and all other living spaces would be scrutinized.
Turkish people flocking to shores to spend the four-day holiday of Eid al-Adha last week had raised the concerns of health officials over the further surge of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
Members of the health ministry's Scientific Committee said there might be an "explosion" in the number of the coronavirus cases in the upcoming seven to 10 days as citizens mostly did not comply with the rules of social distancing, wearing masks, and confined social life. Enditem
