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Turkey to Impose Stricter Measures If Citizens Continue Ignoring 'Voluntary Quarantine'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters
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Turkey to Impose Stricter Measures If Citizens Continue Ignoring 'Voluntary Quarantine'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Reuters

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey might be taking new measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus.

The Turkish president warned that people were not abiding by the self-isolation recommendations.

"We won't need further measures if all our citizens keep themselves in a voluntary quarantine."

"However, we may have to take much more advanced measures if the pandemic spreads and our citizens don't stay at home," Erdogan said during a meeting of his AK Party provincial heads in a televised video conference.

Erdogan has stopped short of announcing a full lockdown across Turkey, mainly for economic reasons, despite growing pressure to do so after cases kept on rising.

"We are determined to continue production and exports," Erdogan said earlier, Reuters reported.

Turkey has registered so far more than 13,000 in just three weeks, with 214 deaths.

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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
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Greece Blocks Asylum Claims for Migrants on Crete after Surge in Arrivals

Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS
Migrants get off a bus at the port of Heraklion, Crete, Greece, 08 July 2025. EPA/NIKOS CHALKIADAKIS

Greece's government said Wednesday it is temporarily suspending asylum applications for migrants arriving on the island of Crete, following a spike in arrivals from Libya.

More than 2,000 migrants have landed on the island since the weekend, according to coast guard figures, bringing the total number of arrivals this year to over 10,000.

Speaking in parliament, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the government also planned to build a detention site on Crete for migrants and was seeking direct collaboration between the Libya and Greek coast guards to turn back boats leaving the North African country.

“This emergency situation clearly demands emergency measures,” Mitsotakis told parliament Wednesday. “The Greek government has decided to inform the European Commission that ... it will suspend the processing of asylum applications — for an initial period of three months — for those arriving by sea from North Africa.”

According to The Associated Press, the suspension will apply only to migrants reaching Crete by sea. Migrants entering illegally will be detained, Mitsotakis said. “The Greek government is sending a firm message: the route to Greece is closing, and that message is directed at all human traffickers,” he said.

Overnight, a fishing trawler carrying 520 migrants from Libya was intercepted south of Crete. A bulk carrier that took all of the migrants onboard was rerouted to the port of Lavrio, near Athens, so that the migrants could be detained on a mainland facility, authorities said.