ISTANBUL, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish officials on Thursday obliged all to present a "health code" to access all kinds of urban public transport and accommodation facilities to better cope with the spread of the COVID-19.
Turkish Interior Ministry said at a notice sent to all the governorships across the country the previous day that the isolation of those who are diagnosed with COVID-19 is one of the important issues in struggling against the pandemic.
Starting from early hours on Thursday, local officials, along with police teams, conducted wide-scale inspections across the country to monitor compliance with the new health code rule.
Ihsan Kara, district governor of Eyupsultan, one of the middle-class districts on the European side of Istanbul, and his team informed and assisted the citizens and public transport drivers about the requirement of the code during the inspections.
Kara told Xinhua on the scene that most of the residents have so far done their best in following the rule in general.
"We have warned those who did not follow the rule and applied administrative measures to those who acted deliberately," Kara added.
The health code, provided by an e-government portal or a mobile app, reveals whether citizens are infected with the coronavirus or get in contact with an infected person.
The ministry also obliged all the accommodation facilities, including hotels, hostels, and guest houses in the country, to ask the health code from their guests upon their arrivals.
Last week, Turkey had made the health code mandatory for citizens to be able to access all public institution buildings. It has been already compulsory in intercity trains, buses, and flights. Enditem
