ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – While Turkey has changed its way of reporting daily COVID-19 infections, it has long confirmed to medical groups and opposition parties that there has been a alarming increase in Turkey’s health-threatening cases in the country. System.
On the one hand, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began reporting all positive coronavirus tests this week – not just the number of patients who are treated for their symptoms – the number of daily cases exceeds more than 20,000. With the new data, the country went on to become one of the least affected countries in Europe.
That came as no surprise to the Turkish Medical Association, which has been warning for months that the government’s previous figures are hiding the seriousness of the spread and the lack of transparency is contributing to the increase. The group says ministry figures are still lower than the estimate of at least 50,000 new infections per day.
No country can report an exact number on the spread of the disease as many cases of incontinence cannot be detected, but the previous method of calculation looked relatively good to Turkey internationally, with fewer new cases being reported daily in European countries, including Italy. Britain and France.
That changed on Wednesday as Turkey’s daily caseload increased from about 7,400 to 28,300.
The Associated Press told the Associated Press that the country’s hospitals have been overcrowded, medical personnel have been burned to the ground and contractors, who once had the privilege of allocating the epidemic, are struggling to track transmissions, said Associated Press President Told the press.
“This is a complete hurricane,” Fincancy said, adding that the group was attacking Erdogan and his nationalist allies for questioning government figures and the repercussions of its outbreak.
Although the health minister has kept the ICU bed occupancy rate at 70%, Ebru Kieraner, head of the Istanbul-based Intensive Care Nurses Association, says the beds in the intensive care unit in Istanbul’s hospitals are almost full, with doctors scrambling to find space. Critically ill patients.
He added that there is a shortage of nurses and the existing nursing staff is fed up.
“ICU nurses have not been able to return to their normal lives since March,” he told the AP. “Their kids don’t see less faces than their masks in months.”
Erdogan said, however, that there is no problem with the capacity of hospitals. He blamed the failure on people to wear masks, which are mandatory and follow the rules of social distance.
Demonstrating the seriousness of the outbreak, Turkey last month suspended leave for health care workers and temporarily banned resignation and early retirement during the epidemic. A similar ban was imposed for three months in March.
The official daily Covid-19 death toll has also risen sharply, reaching 1, 3 with 1 new death on Saturday, a reversal in the country’s fortunes that have been lauded for keeping deaths low. But those record numbers also remain controversial.
Istanbul Mayor Akram Imamoglu said 186 people died of infectious diseases in the city on November 22 – a day on which the government announced only 139 Kovid-19 deaths across the country. The mayor also said that about 450 burials are taking place every day in 15 million cities, compared to an average of 180-200 recorded in November last year.
“We can only break through the process of transparency,” said Imamoglu, from Turkey’s main opposition party. “Russia and Germany have announced the death toll. Has Germany lost its luster? Did Russia fall? ”
Health Minister Fahretin Koka denied Imamoglu’s claim, saying: “I want to underline that the figures I provide are all accurate.”
Last week, Erdogan announced a series of sanctions in a bid to end the infection without affecting the already weakened economy or business activity. Opposition groups called him “half-baked.” He introduced a curfew for the first time since June, but limited them to weekend evenings, closed restaurants and cafes except for withdrawal services and banned the opening hours of malls, shops and hairdressers.
Both Fincancy and Kirner said the measures are not going far enough to accommodate the transmission.
“We need a total lockdown of at least two weeks, if not four weeks, which science considers the ideal amount,” Fincancy said.
Koka said the number of seriously ill patients and casualties was rising and said some cities, including Istanbul and Izmir, were experiencing their “third peak”. He said Turkey would wait two weeks to see the results of the weekend curfew and other sanctions before considering a tougher lockdown.
Meanwhile, the country has reached an agreement to receive 50 million doses of the vaccine developed by the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac and is expected to begin operating it next month with medical staff and serious illness. There is also talk of purchasing a vaccine developed by Pfizer in collaboration with Byantech Pharmaceutical Company. The Turkish developed vaccine is ready for use in April.
Erdogan said he had also talked to Russian President Vladimir Putin about the possibility of a vaccine developed by that country.
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The report was contributed by Zinep Beginsoy of Istanbul.
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