Iran Press/Asia: "As part of the fight against the pandemic, we have decided that we would continue the weekend lockdowns as long as necessary in the period ahead," Erdogan said in Istanbul.
"I announce to all my citizens that there will be a lockdown from Friday 17 April until Sunday 19 April," he said in a televised speech, as reported by France24.
"We are going to take the necessary measures to avoid the unnecessary disorder that took place before," the president said. The purpose of the all-day weekend curfews was to protect citizens from the virus by ensuring they stayed at home, he added.
Late last Friday the government announced a weekend lockdown for 31 cities, but given just two hours' notice, hundreds of thousands of people rushed out to make last-minute purchases.
The weekend lockdowns are a stricter measure, enforced by the police, and coincide with the improving weather, which has raised government concerns that citizens might ignore the calls to stay at home.
Last week's late announcement and the subsequent chaos led to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu taking responsibility and announcing his resignation Sunday, but Erdogan told him to stay in his post.
Turkey has recorded more than 61,000 COVID-19 infections and nearly 1,300 have died, according to health ministry figures published Monday.
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