On April 26, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced new lockdown measures in a bid to curb rising COVID-19 infections that at some point reached 60,000 cases per day. The new restrictions, effective April 30 and lasting until May 17, are the strictest so far. They include the closing of retail shops, and other services considered non-essential, a ban on sales of alcohol, stationery, electronics—and even feminine hygienic pads—while previously there were only partial lockdowns and weekend curfews. Turkey began its vaccination campaign in mid January and, so far, 12 percent of its 85 million population have been fully immunized. The new measures were met with much criticism, especially among working-class people who received very little or no financial support during the last year and a half of the pandemic. The farming industry was one of the hardest hit as all markets were shut down, and farmers across the country had to throw out much of what they cultivated. In an attempt to address this, the government decided to open farmers’ markets but only on Saturdays. The farmers union, however, did not agree that this would be enough to solve the growing crisis. According to IPSOS's April research figures, 61 percent of respondents in Turkey reported a decline in their emotional and mental health. Cases of suicide have been on the rise. Speaking to Turkish newspaper BirGün, psychiatrist Dr. Burhanettin Kaya said the main reason behind the recent spike in numbers is “increasing impoverishment”: Unlike in countries where suicide rates were high, including the Scandinavian countries, where it was possible to reduce the rate as a result of adopted social policies, in Turkey, this has been the opposite, with each year, numbers growing. More recently, the main reasons driving people to suicide are hopelessness, economic policies, increasing impoverishment, growing economic crisis, class gap, and other factors contributing to lost opportunities, all of which have gradually led people to dissolve their ties to life. This sense of hopelessness touches everyone. According to the Musicians and Performers Union (Müzik-Sen), statistics from September 2020, at least 100 musicians have committed suicide during the pandemic. Many of the country's one million registered musicians do not have insurance and therefore cannot claim state support benefits. Also, weddings and large music events have been banned since the start of the pandemic. In an interview with Arab News, Muzik-Sen’s Hasan Aldemir said, state authorities “haven’t protected musicians under these harsh conditions.” The main opposition, the Republican's People party and other critics tried to get the government to explain the legal basis of the ban—but there was none. On May 4, the Ministry of the Interior issued a statement regulating the sale of certain products at stores. According to the new measures, all non-essential products, including alcohol would be banned, including things like potting soil, stationary and cosmetic products, effective May 7. These measures prompted many people to react on social media: Turkey bans alcohol sale during the lockdown lasting until May 17th triggering a Twitterstorm. Longest ban of alcohol sale that I can remember. https://t.co/gUWR1oiIOC — Fercan (@FercanY) April 27, 2021 The alcohol ban was briefly reversed after a public outcry: Turkey reverses 17-day ban on alcohol sales during lockdown: Cumhuriyet https://t.co/AgDHOtEvCW — Piotr Zalewski (@p_zalewski) April 30, 2021 Only to be reintroduced once again on May 4, 2021: Under new lockdown rules, Turkey bans sales of “nonessential” products (alcohol, makeup, perfume, electronic goods, toys, stationery, clothing, auto accessories, to name a few) starting May 7th. https://t.co/D6flsAckJ1 — Piotr Zalewski (@p_zalewski) May 4, 2021 Ahead of the new measures, many criticized Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party restrictions as one-sidedness, as in February and March, the party organized congresses with thousands of people shown often to not be wearing masks, all overcrowded indoors. One member of the opposition Republican People's Party shared this video of Turkey's map with its cities slowly turning red as President Erdogan calls them out during the congress: Kısa bir lebaleb turu yapalım mı? pic.twitter.com/RGZ2VS7aTN — Deniz Demir (@demirdenizchp) April 18, 2021 Shall we do a short tour of lebaleb (meaning full to the brim)? The word “lebaleb” trended for a while as a result. The president was also seen at an overcrowded funeral before the new restrictions were introduced and more recently on May 2. According to new lockdown measures, funerals are to be held with no more than 30 people.