Protective masks that adorn the faces of millions may be history soon, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca says. The minister who helms the country’s efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak on Friday tried to instil hope in a public weary of months of restrictions and measures.

Axar.az reports citing Turkish media that the minister added:

“We yearn for the days we will breathe freely again. Masks will not be in our lives soon. There are great developments in vaccine work. Let’s wait for the results,” he tweeted. In the meantime, he called on the public to properly wear masks everywhere except at home and thanked the nation “for patience.”

Wearing masks is mandatory across Turkey which has experienced a surge in the number of patients recently.

Turkey currently has more than 404,000 patients, far higher than recoveries which stands at 346,794. Fatalities exceeded 11,233 while the number of tests reached more than 15.7 million since the outbreak was first reported in the country in March. Smoking in crowded outdoor public places was banned starting from Thursday to slow the recent surge in infections, as part of the latest measures.