In April of 2020, A 31-year-old Kazakhstani woman fell from a cliff to her death while attempting to take a photo to mark the end of social distancing restrictions.
Sources report that "31-year old Olesia Suspitsina perished in front of a friend who was taking the picture after the pair hiked around Duden Park in the city of [Antalya, Turkey] onthe same day the government lifted a weeks-long shelter-in-place mandate."
An unnamed friend of Olesia explained, "We came to the park in the evening, we drank wine. Then we were talking to a friend with a video. When Olesia was talking on video, she asked me to take a picture of herself."
Olesia then climbed over a safety rail, posed in front of the waterfalls for a photo, and slipped on the grass. She plunged down 115 feet. Authorities were able to retrieve her body from the water.
A funeral was held the week of her death. Olesia was well-known in the area, where she had worked as a tour guide for the last five years. A friend remembered her as a "smart and cheerful person." She also wrote online that "I will always admire the beauty of the Turkish nature. This is my paradise."
As of May 1 2020, Turkey had recorded 120,204 cases of coronavirus and 3,174 deaths. The country had also tested at least 1 million people for the virus. In April 2020, Turkey had recorded the highest number of infections in Asia. Despite that, Ahval News wrote, "Yet thousands are still breaching the government’s measures to halt the spread of the COVID-19, with many of the infringements by companies that have pressed on with economic activity despite the risks."
The government announced that it had launched legal proceedings against more than 20,000 people who had been accused of breaking the curfew put in place. The government issued a statement reading, "The curfew imposed on 30 provinces with metropolitan status and Zonguldak will end at 24.00 tonight, as previously announced to the public."
Turkey has also opted to not completely lock down the country: "The government has refrained from calling a comprehensive lockdown, instead gradually imposing tighter restrictions that are regulating public areas to reduce the volume of traffic and keeping people under 20 and over 65 years old at home."
Some workers in Turkey have also had to accept unsafe conditions. Five thousand miners were recently sent back to work. "Thousands of miners in Turkey’s northern Samsun and western Manisa provinces returned to work in the type of enclosed and poorly ventilated conditions that carry the highest risk of spreading the infection through airborne droplets."
However, Turkey lifted a lot of its restrictions on April 30. Many people have likely spent the day out, enjoying their newfound freedom to bask in the weather and scenery in the region. Hopefully, more stories like this one will not become the norm as various countries and states transition back to pre-shelter-in-place measures.
