Though authorities assured the public that “bad days” are behind in the COVID-19 pandemic, weekly figures by Health Ministry showed a spike in the cases earlier this month. Turkish Thoracic Society called upon the public to take measures against potential future waves of the pandemic.
The health ministry announced Tuesday that a total of 10,954 people tested positive between June 13-19 and 19 people died of the infection in the same period. Figures show about a 50% rise in the number of cases, which fluctuated around 7,500 in recent weeks. Recoveries from the coronavirus in the second week of the month were 7,653.
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting on Monday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said that though the number of cases has increased, the coronavirus patient load in the hospitals is declining. He said that the infections resemble flu now but they would continue posing a risk for senior citizens and people with chronic illnesses. He added that it was important that people in risk groups adhere to personal protection measures although the disease “as significant as flu” was no more a concern for the general public. “Bad days are over. Everybody should be assured,” he said.
In a written statement, Turkish Thoracic Society president, Professor Oya İtil, said it was not the time to declare that the pandemic had disappeared. “We have a time of holidays ahead and we have to review our measures in order not to face a new peak in the pandemic in the autumn,” she warned. She highlighted that public awareness of risk decreased as the crowded events like wedding parties were held in an unrestricted way indicated. Dr. Filiz Çağla Uyanusta, a board member of the Society, urged authorities to reintroduce the mask mandate in indoor venues, particularly mass transit and increase the number of tests and impose an isolation rule for 10 days on people diagnosed with coronavirus. She urged the inclusion of children between the ages of 5 and 12 in the vaccination program "to ensure mass immune response before the start of the school year (in September)."
Turkey has largely recovered from the devastating impact of the coronavirus over the past six months thanks to mass vaccination and the omicron variant, which protected the population and boosted immunity, leading to fewer fatalities and hospitalizations. In response to the decreasing number of cases, the country has eased the restrictions stemming from the pandemic, including the mask mandate.
Since March 11, 2020, when the first COVID-19 case was reported, Turkey reported more than 15 million cases, while 99,015 people died of the infection.
