Virus Tracker ID Required For Istanbul Public Transport

Passengers who use public transportation in Istanbul will require the country's coronavirus contact tracing HES code as of Friday.

According to a circular issued by Turkey's Interior Ministry, the cards used for subways and public buses will be paired with the unique code that will determine a person's likelihood of having caught the COVID-19 infection.

Those transportation cards in Istanbul that are not matched with the HES code will be invalid as of Friday.

High-risk passengers will not be allowed to board.

There are over 34 million Istanbulkart users, according to the municipality data.

*Writing by Merve Aydogan in Ankara -