Turkey exempts young workers from confinement order

Turkey on Sunday said working youth, including seasonal agricultural labour, will be exempted from a confinement order imposed as part of tougher measures against the coronavirus outbreak.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday issued a mandatory confinement order for everyone aged under 20 starting from midnight, in the latest series of measures taken nationwide.

Public and private sector employees as well as seasonal agricultural workers aged between 18 and 20 will now be exempted, the interior ministry said in a circular.

People aged over 65 or those with chronic medical conditions are already subject to mandatory confinement in Turkey.

The country's death toll from coronavirus reached 574 after 73 more people lost their lives over the last 24 hours, according to figures published by Health Minister Fahrettin Koca on Sunday.

The total number of confirmed cases rose to 27,069 while the country performed more than 20,000 tests on Sunday.

"Let's stay home. I thank young people who set a model for everyone with their behaviour under the new practice," Koca tweeted.

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Turkish authorities have closed schools, suspended international flights and banned mass prayers and gatherings to stem the spread of the virus in the country of 83 million.