Strength in numbers

摘要

IN EARLY MARCH, before Turkey had formally registered its first case of covid-19, Sabah, a pro-government newspaper, praised the country for setting a "leading example" in the fight against the novel co-ronavirus. Some 160,000 confirmed cases later, the fanfare is rather quieter. Still, as the country emerges from lockdown, there is some cause for cheer. Turkey's government has a reputation for throttling dissent and picking fights with its European and American allies. But it has handled the pandemic better than many. Turkey has defied lockdown orthodoxy. Rather than place the whole economy in a coma, the authorities ordered the young and the elderly to stay at home and asked everyone else, aside from those in consumer-facing businesses, to show up for work. The biggest cities were placed under a blanket curfew on weekends and holidays. Some domestic flights resumed on June 1st, and cafes, restaurants, beaches and parks reopened, but children and people 65 and over are still not allowed outdoors for more than a few hours a week.