by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has taken an important step towards normalization on Monday, allowing restaurants, cafes and many shops to reopen after more than two months of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, but health specialists call for vigilance.

Restaurants and cafes were permitted to serve customers again, as long as they adhere to physical distancing rules established by the health ministry.

Museums, some gyms and pools, and also public parks also opened their doors. Worshippers were allowed to return to mosques for prayers, wearing masks and obeying distancing rules.

Istanbul's landmarks, the Grand Bazaar and the ottoman Topkapi palace, have begun to receive visitors.

Despite cloudy weather following a rainy weekend, many young people returned to the cafes in downtown Ankara.

"We have been waiting for this day for a long time, we really want to go to normal life, as possible as we can. It is difficult to stay at home when the weather is so good (in previous weeks)," Ece Tekin, a university student, told Xinhua in a shop located on the busy Tunali Hilmi Avenue.

The young women, who was sipping coffee with a mask under her chin, said that she was still alert about the situation.

"I will try to make the best of this time because I don't know if it will last. People are talking of a new wave of outbreak, I hope it will not be the case and hopefully we will wake up from what seems a science fiction movie," she said.

The restaurant staff are required to wear masks and gloves. Social distancing rules also limited the businesses to run at around 50 percent capacity.

"It's hot and wearing with this protective gear is not easy, but we must do, at least the customers are back," said a waiter. "Although we cannot accommodate them all, we are glad to be back and trying to adapt to this."

Tables were also moved further apart and disinfectants were placed on them.

In the Segmenler and Kugulu parks located nearby, people were enjoying timid rays of sunshine, but some of them were not wearing masks.

The two-month lockdown brings significant setback for most of the restaurants and cafes, which were already hit by high inflation before the outbreak.

Some shops have closed in downtown Kizilay, as they were unable to afford the rent and personnel wages during the lockdown.

The number of new infections in Turkey has been dropping each day, according to health officials who still urged for vigilance against a resurgence of the pandemic.

"We must remain vigilant and wear masks when we go outside. Whether there will be a resurgence depends on how we are protecting ourselves and others. We can do it if we abide by three rules: masks, distancing and hygiene," tweeted professor Tevfik Ozlu, a virologist and member of the Coronavirus Science Board.

Some citizens and scientists are uneasy about the progress of normalization, which they argued is too fast as daily infections numbers are still around 800-900.

"While the outbreak is not fully under control, opening kindergartens, shopping centers and gyms, which are common places, poses a serious risk," said public health expert Tugrul Erbaydar.

"This normalization is going too fast," he stressed, hoping that the country doesn't return back "to square one" in its fight against the coronavirus. Enditem

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