Turkey’s Minister of Health says “There may be people among us who carry this virus”
Following the meeting of the Scientific Board Fahrettin KOCA, Turkey’s Minister of Health announced decision taken regarding the coronavirus case and shared information about recent developments. KOCA said, “We know there is an epidemic on our doorstep. Perhaps there may be people among us carrying this virus, during this time”.
Minister Koca’s statements are as follows:
“Although there was no significant increase in the number of cases, we also stopped our flights and closed our borders with Italy, South Korea and Iraq after China and Iran, as of Saturday night. It is increasingly spreading around the world and is currently seen in 68 countries; most recently in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Czechia. The total number of cases has now reached 89,211. The death toll was 3040. There was also a significant increase in the number of those who recovered during this process. The number of people who have recovered has reached 45 thousand, which is important information. In China, the increase is stabilized, but in countries other than China there is an increase and it is more important for us because we feel this development more intensively in our immediate region..
We have clear information on contagion, the course of at-risk patients and it is seen less frequently especially in the young and child age group. 85 percent of the total cases have passed like normal seasonal flu and 15 percent more severely. As for group of patients with more risk, the death rate has reached 15 percent. However, I would like to note that death rate for those younger than 50 is about 0.2 percent. On the other hand I would also like to express that we see between 250 thousand and 500 thousand deaths in the world every years due to seasonal flue. In other words I want to emphasize that the panic created in public is not proportionate to the picture shaped by the new corona virus.
‘Those who have been abroad in the last 14 days should not come out into the crowd’
We know that Corona infection is seen in many countries around us. We know that these numbers are increasing, especially in Iran. At the border, we are taking measures more intensely. It is know that especially citizens who want to come to the border go through examinations and if there is a disease they go through a follow-up period. Our health workers are trained and instructed how to handle these cases and send those citizens back home as due. If there are no findings we finish the process as soon as 14 days are completed. We believe that we should take this process with sensitivity in terms of protecting our citizens within the country.
We know there’s an epidemic on our doorstep. Perhaps there may be people among us who have had this virus in this period. We also have citizens who have been in the region for 14 days and recently entered our country. We care that people who have travelled abroad, especially in these five countries, should not enter crowded environments and should spend 14 days at home as much as possible. We know that it’s usually teenagers who travel. It’s about those people who might not pose a Risk. However, we specifically ask that those who have travelled are highly contagious and that they complete 14 days in a home environment as far as possible, and that those who have been in contact should observe and not be in close contact with people. We recommend that those who have come from countries that should be quarantined should not enter crowded environments for 14 days. If they have any symptoms, such as fever or cough, they should apply by wearing their mask.
13,834 of our citizens have passed a health check against the virus. So far, there have been no cases in our country. Seeing coronavirus in our country does not mean a disaster. In this case, our health system is strong enough to keep the situation under control”.
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