Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday announced that Turkey's government will impose a nationwide lockdown for a period of four days, starting New Year's Eve. The aim is to limit the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday season.

A weekly weekend lockdown has been in effect in Turkey since the end of November as part of the measures imposed by the government to combat the coronavirus crisis.

During a cabinet meeting Monday, Erdogan said these measures are working, as the country recorded a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases.

"In order to consolidate the good results that have been achieved, a continuous lockdown will be imposed from the night of December 31 at 21:00 and until dawn on January 4 at 05:00.", said Erdogan.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Turkey has recorded more than 1.8 million cases and more than 16,600 deaths.