Turkey's Erdogan imposes four-day lockdown from Saturday

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their talks in Moscow

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that a lockdown would be imposed starting on Saturday and ending after Tuesday, May 19, which is a national holiday.

Ankara has imposed lockdowns in major cities over the past four weekends, as well as on national holidays to slow the spread of the new coronavirus.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdogan said intercity travel restrictions on nine more cities had been lifted, as Turkey gradually eases measures taken against the coronavirus.

The restrictions on the three largest cities, Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, remain in place.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Gareth Jones)