Turkey ordered citizens to stay at home for 48 hours across 31 cities starting midnight Friday to contain the spread of the new coronavirus, immediately triggering panic-buying in some cities.
The interior ministry said in a statement the order would last until midnight (2100 GMT) on Sunday in dozens of cities, including the economic hub of Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
Almost immediately afterwards, thousands of people in Istanbul and Ankara flocked to markets and bakeries still open for last-minute shopping, AFP correspondents said.
Roads in both cities were also full of traffic, with long queues forming outside off-licences, grocery stores and banks.
Istanbul resident Simona Hayrabet, who had gone out to get some fruit and water for the weekend, said she had expected such a move by the government, “but it happened so abruptly.”
Another resident, Marina Gravina Zagaia, criticised the late night announcement while Salih Topcu, holding a shopping list written by his wife, described it as “nonsense”.
“It is really bad that they announced it so late. Had it been in the morning, we would have gone to the markets to get food and drinks,” Zagaia told AFP.
“Right now everyone is going through chaos,” she added.
signaturetv.org/AFP/IJM