Commanders of Turkish Armed Forces test positive for COVID-19
National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar with Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler, Land Forces Command Cmdr. Gen. Musa Avsever, Naval Forces Command Cmdr. Adm. Adnan Özbal and Air Forces Command Cmdr. Gen. Hasan Küçükakyüz in İzmir, Turkey in this undated file photo. (AA Photo)


The commanders of Turkey's land, naval and air forces have tested positive for COVID-19, the National Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Land Forces Command Cmdr. Gen. Musa Avsever, Naval Forces Command Cmdr. Adm. Adnan Özbal and Air Forces Command Cmdr. Gen. Hasan Küçükakyüz have all tested positive according to their latest results, the ministry said in a statement.

"Our commanders are suffering from mild symptoms and are performing their duties from afar," the statement added.

Recently, Turkey’s daily number of cases has plummeted to as low as 25,000 from around 100,000. This trend seems to be linked to the peak theory that says cases need to reach the highest possible point before they begin to decline. In addition, Turkey is witnessing a drop in the number of people hospitalized or in critical care.

Apart from the impact of vaccination and restrictions, this downward trend is mainly linked to omicron, a less lethal variant of the coronavirus, especially for otherwise healthy people. It is more infectious than earlier variants but for many people outside the risk groups, it is not nearly as fatal as severe influenza.