9 out of every 10 people want a curfew amid surging COVID-19 cases in Turkey

* Photo: Kemal Ceylan - Çorum / AA

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Ipsos research company has conducted a survey in an effort to measure the society's reaction to the increasing number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths and cases in Turkey.

CLICK - Turkey's COVID-19 death toll tops 7 thousand, number of seriously ill patients still rising

The survey results have shown that half of the participants have been rarely using public transportation in the recent period or trying to avoid it altogether. This rate has topped 60 percent in the last week.

According to the survey carried out in the first week of September, the general expectation of the society is that the measures which were embraced in April-May 2020 and were effective in curbing the spread of the disease to a certain extent will be adopted again, even if partly.

5 percent object

Nearly nine out of every ten people (87 percent) agree with the idea that a province-wide or countrywide curfew should be imposed.

According to the survey of the Ipsos conducted for the daily Milliyet, the rate of those objecting a curfew is only 5 percent.

When the participants are asked "Which of the following options represent your attitude to curfews best," they answer as follows:

• Curfew must be imposed in Turkey - 69 percent
• Curfew must be imposed on a provincial basis - 18 percent
• Curfew must not be imposed - 5 percent
• I have no idea - 8 percent

Majority don't feel comfortable in public transport

The survey results have also shown that while 43 percent of citizens do not feel comfortable in public transportation at all, 34 percent do not feel comfortable much. While 15 percent say that they partly feel comfortable, the rate of those who "feel very comfortable" is 8 percent.

Nearly four out of every 10 people did not use public transportation in the first week of September, the survey has highlighted further.

While 51 percent (one out of every two people) say that they very often or sometimes use one or more means of public transportation, they state that they rarely used public transportation or did not use it at all in the last week. The remaining 39 percent say that they used it very often or at times.

When the participants are asked "How frequently have you been using the below means of transportation in the recent period," 51 percent say "very frequently or sometimes" and 49 percent say "rarely or never."

Reopening of schools

Answering the questions about their tendency to send their children to school in the event of a transition to face-to-face education, six out of every 10 parents say that they will send their children while two parents say that they will not. Two out of 10 parents say that they are indecisive about the issue.

When parents are asked "If face-to-face education will be given in the first term of this school year, will you send your children to school," they give the following answers to Ipsos survey:

• I will absolutely send my child - 25 percent
• I will probably send - 35 percent
• I will probably not send - 11 percent
• I will absolutely not send - 11 percent
• I am not sure - 18 percent

(AS/SD)