Erdogan says Turkey has lost some ground in coronavirus fight

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin//File Photo

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday Turkey had lost some ground in its battle with the coronavirus pandemic but a focus on hygiene, masks and social distancing will protect people and help the economy rebound in the second half of the year.

"The numbers in recent days show that we have lost our position in the fight against the epidemic," Erdogan said in a televised address. "But we aim to remove the pandemic from our agenda by respecting the cleaning, mask and distance rules."