Health Minister Fahrettin Koca urged the public not to be disheartened as daily coronavirus cases climbed in the country, assuring that though numbers may be high, the virus has lost its strength and the "worst days are over."
His remarks preceded Saturday’s announcement by the Health Ministry that put the number of daily cases at 94,783, the highest figure since the virus made its foray into the country. However, fatalities were strikingly low compared to the high case count, standing at just 174 on Saturday, whereas in April and May of 2021 the daily fatalities were shy of 400 for weeks, though case numbers fluctuated between 30,000 and just above 60,000.
Speaking in the northern province of Giresun where he attended the opening of a hospital, Koca said the public should "rest assured that the worst days are behind us ... As your health minister, I repeat this loudly: You should not be worried about the rising number of cases," he underlined, adding that "the disease lost the strength it had back in the old days."
The minister noted that Turkey was highly prepared before the world declared a global pandemic and set up its scientific advisory board and established its guidelines to fight the outbreak. "We acted swiftly and implemented measures. When our vaccination program began, we provided fast inoculation to our citizens and vaccinated the majority of our citizens in a short time," Koca said.
Turkey has administered more than 141 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since January 2021 while the number of people who have received two doses of vaccine exceeds 52 million and over 24.8 million have received three doses.
The minister highlighted that the current COVID-19 situation resembled the spread of the winter flu. "If we had released the number of people we lost to influenza daily, you would see it was no different than COVID-19," he said.
After a successful lockdown and string of curfews last year, Turkey curbed the spring surge in cases at the beginning of the summer of 2021. Case numbers gradually dropped then but there has been an uptick recently, spurred by the fast-spreading omicron variant, which brought new daily records to Turkey in case numbers. Authorities are not planning new restrictions and instead repeatedly remind the public to adhere to the measures already in place such as mandatory mask-wearing, social distancing and practicing good hygiene. The country's vaccination program is also in full swing, with experts urging the population to get their booster shots to protect themselves against omicron. Despite the omicron variant causing milder symptoms for some and fewer people requiring intensive care, the experts warn that the new strain still carries a high risk, especially for the unvaccinated, those without booster shots, senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses.
Professor Necla Tülek from Atılım University in the capital Ankara points out another danger: lack of mass immunity. Tülek, an infectious diseases expert, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the reinfection rate is high with the omicron variant and impossible to overcome without developing mass immunity, something that can be achieved jointly with mass vaccination and a large number of people recovering from the infection. "We need at least 90% of the population to get vaccinated. Two doses are not enough now. People should absolutely have their booster shots," she stressed.