Turkish Ministry of Interior has issued a decree as part of measures to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic on Monday.

Accordingly, activities in all assembly areas will be suspended temporarily starting 00:00 tonight in all of 81 provinces in the country. These include theaters, cinemas, performance centers, concert halls, wedding avenues, restaurants, cafés, bars, game arcades, closed children’s playgrounds, amusement parks, swimming pools, massage parlors and sport centres.

The decree did not specify when the measures will end but also announced the suspension of all meetings and congresses of all NGOs starting tonight.

Earlier today, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that 12 more people have been diagnosed with the virus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 18. He said seven of the confirmed cases had come from Europe and three from the U.S.

On the other hand, Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate has suspended all congregational prayers in mosques, including Friday prayers. Ali Erbaş, head of the Religious Affairs Directorate, said that mosques would remain open for individual prayers.

According to Erbaş, all the Turkish citizens who went on umrah pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia have returned to the country while 390 others who travelled on private tours will return today and be quarantined.