Covid-19: Turkey prepares for first lockdown and record calls to the NSPCC Published 1. Turkey prepares for its first full lockdown The streets are crowded, the shopping centres busy and the traffic heavy. Some flock to the main bus terminal to get out of Istanbul, while others are trying to stockpile alcohol amid news of a "booze ban". This is the mood as Turkey prepares to enter its first full lockdown of the pandemic later. Turkey has faced restrictions, which were re-imposed at the beginning of April, but they was not enough to curb the spread of infections. At its height this month, there were more than 60,000 new cases a day and more than 300 deaths.